Breaking Down the Shyness
by Albertoersa
Summary: Daphne Greengrass is known for her Ice Queen persona. But what if that is only a mask for the shy girl who dreams of adventure and romance? Unbeknownst to her, a brief interaction with Harry Potter will set her on a path that she could never have predicted. Harry for his part will find an enigma in the Ice Queen, one that for some reason, he is eager to unravel.
1. Chapter 1

Breaking Down the Shyness

 **If you are a fanfiction author, or a writer in general, you know those times where you are trying to figure out the next step in your current work, and suddenly you go down the rabbit hole of crazy ideas that don't fit your current project but that are totally awesome and deserve a story of their own? Yup, that's the case with this one.**

 **Rated T for the time being, will go up when this starts to get more "lemony". Those chapters will have a warning for those teenagers that shouldn't (but still are and will continue) reading M rated fanfiction.**

 **I already know where this is going for the fourth and fifth year of Hogwarts, after that I'm not sure. I might try to stick to the canon, or I might go AU. How much? Depends on your feedback.**

Chapter one: OMG Dragons!

" _Dragons"_ Harry repeated to himself as he walked towards the library. Just the day before, Hagrid had revealed the first task of the Tri-Wizard tournament to Harry. Needless to say, that Harry was in a bit of a "state" ever since then.

Of course, he had already told Hermione about that, and normally she'd be the one dragging his arse to the library, but she had classes for most of the morning and he did not. One of the few perks of being a contestant in the tournament were that he was able to skip whatever classes he felt he needed to, to prepare himself for the challenges.

Being free from classes didn't really offer any consolation in his case. He'd much rather face Snape than to actually _face_ a dragon.

He practically dragged his feet all the way to a seat in the library, one of the quieter spots in the whole room, and one of the preferred ones by Hermione. Along the way, he'd picked up some books that at first glance seemed to be about dragons. He didn't really know what he was actually looking for, so he set off to read all of them.

To his fortune, most 'topical' books written by wizards were fairly concise and 'on topic', although most of them were filled by mannerisms and word choices unique to the author, especially in the more 'old' texts that didn't go through and editor or a publisher.

So even if the books were concise and focused solely on the topic needed, Harry had a hard time deciphering some of the text. Especially bothersome were the one's written in older English.

Although he had made good progress, he was feeling exhausted by the time that Hermione finally charged into the library. Of course, she had brought her own selection of books and articles. Thankfully, she had already read most of them at some point in the past.

"You look terrible Harry" was the first thing she said after she was done sorting through the reading material both of them had collected.

"Thanks" harry muttered sarcastically as he stretched his arms and shoulders and laid back onto his seat.

"Dragons… what were they thinking?!" She said, incredulous as she furiously scanned through a bestiary. Harry just shrugged; he was done trying to figure out wizards and their customs and he just went with the flow in most occasions. What unsettled Harry the most however was how eager were his schoolmates to potentially see one of their own die in a challenge.

With another stretch he stood up and told Hermione that he was going to look more closely in the library for anything that could help him. In a very Hermione-like fashion she nodded without looking at him while scribbling notes in a roll of parchment.

Harry took to wandering through the rows of bookcases of the library, occasionally picking a book and briefly scanning through it. There didn't seem to be anything useful at first glance. There was plenty about the anatomy and psychology of dragons, but nothing about how to fight or trick one.

It wasn't particularly late then, and the library had been filling up with other students. The ones Harry stumbled upon either shot him a nasty glare or just ignored him. It was mostly fine with Harry since his popularity amongst his classmates wasn't a particular high priority topic at that moment to him.

It was when he was about to head back to pick up some of the books that had seemed more useful that he stumbled upon a weird sight.

He was at the other end of the library, very near one of the other private tables. Hermione didn't use that one much since it was still very open in her opinion; especially since most of the stuff that the trio had gotten up to in past years was best researched without prying eyes.

But for any other student that spot was perfect for a quiet study session or even to just hang out and sneak a couple of quick snogs.

A couple of snogging teenagers wasn't what Harry had stumbled upon however. Instead it was a blond teenager that everybody in the school had at least heard about. Daphne Greengrass, the Ice Queen was sitting there on her own, immersed into a book, and _giggling._

That was enough to off put anyone who had heard of the girl's reputation, but perhaps what was more interesting to Harry was that she didn't even have her tie one, or her usual ponytail or even her permanent blank expression.

In fact her blue eyes seemed to even shine as she read a particularly exciting part.

That was odd, but to Harry, for some reason, found enjoyment in seeing the usually uptight witch so, relaxed.

Of course, he'd been staring and she didn't take too long to feel watched.

Her eyes darted away from her book and landed onto his. For a second, she did nothing but stare back, however, her eyes began to widen and in a small blush tinged her cheeks. In the blink of an eye Harry saw her expression morph back into the perfect example of stoicism that she usually wore. Her eyes became dull and uncaring, although Harry could have sworn that her cheeks were still pink-er than usual.

"Can I help you with anything, Potter?" She asked, her voice dull and cold.

That was another weird thing that Harry could recall about her. Even though she was in Slytherin and could often be seen hanging around with Draco Malfoy, she had never been anything but cordial to him. Granted, his interactions with her were few and far in between, but she had done nothing to earn his animosity in the past, unlike a good portion of the Slytherin house.

"Nothing" He said quickly "Just wondering what you were reading" He had the sense not to mention how different she had seemed while reading it.

She glanced down for a second, as if she had forgotten she had been doing something before he sowed up. She picked up the book and showed the cover to Harry.

"Memoirs of Monsieur d'Artagnan" she said once the cover was in full display. She then set it back on the table and continued to look at Harry expectantly.

Feeling a little bit intimidated by her blank stare Harry ruffled his hair uncomfortably "Um, is it any good?" he asked the first thing that came to his mind.

She glanced down at the book and then back at Harry, who could have sworn he saw the corners of her mouth tug upwards a little.

"One of my favourites" she said.

Harry nodded, and asked the next question he could come up with "Do you know anything about Dragons?"

Harry thought she seemed a little bit startled by the question but nodded and stood up, her façade unbroken as she did so.

She didn't say anything or gave any indication of emotion, but she headed all the way down a row of bookshelves and picked up a book without looking twice, then she came back to harry and handed it to him.

"T-thanks!" Harry stuttered, not having expected any help from her. " _Why is she not looking at me in the eyes?"_

For a second, Harry thought she might be embarrassed, but he had no idea why she would, so he dismissed the idea.

"You're welcome" she said and went back to her seat. He watched her pack up and eventually leave the library. As she walked away from him, his eyes refused to leave her. When she was out of sight, he muttered to himself: "Lovely bottom" before blushing a little bit.

Shaking his head, he looked at the book she had handed him, it was titled "How to deal with dragons" by Arcturus Greengrass


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow… That's a lot of people interested in this… Damnit now I have a real commitment to this story. As one reviewer pointed out, I have a lot of works that I've kind of left unfinished for a while, but don't you fret dear reader, as writing has now become my full-time job! Which means that I don't have any excuses not to sit and write.**

 **Same dude pointed out that Harry's "Nice bottom" comment might have been to OCC but cut me some slack here.**

 **He IS a teenager**

 **If I don't give Harry some immediate physical attraction there is no real reason for him to go out of his way to talk to her again at some point in the future without making up anything too convoluted. Besides I always thought of Harry as an ASS kind of man.**

 **3- This story is somewhat inspired in my IRL relationship. Basically, I'm a bit of a perv and she wasn't. And it worked out!**

 **I'm trying to build something sweet between this two without resorting to magic or marriage contracts and whatnot.**

 **Chapter 2: Nobody can know that I love Dragons**

Daphne re-read the letter she'd just received and sighed. She had already suspected the answer but to see it being put into writing was twice as dejecting.

With how upset her mother had sounded, she was surprised she hadn't received a howler from her part.

She sighed again and set down the letter. She gave her owl a treat and set about getting ready for the day. That day she didn't need to wear her uniform, as it was the day that first task of the tri-wizard tournament was taking place.

It wasn't that she particularly cared, but an excuse to get out of class was as good as anything. Besides, the tournament's history had a track record of bringing out some fascinating beasts. She was always keen to see those.

Once ready, she sat back on her bed and gave a final read to the letter. Not that she expected the answer to change, but well, she could hope. Sighing again, she folded back the letter onto the envelop and tossed it onto her bed. It was time to get going anyway, and she had promised Tracey that they would meet up in Slytherin's common room and head out to the first task together.

Standing in-front of her dorm's door, she breathed in deeply, made sure her hair was in order, put on her brave face and exited.

The hallway was already littered with her housemates, milling around and going about her business. Mostly to go visit their friends who had, like her, earnt the right to a private room for the year.

The private quarters were only awarded to the students that had academically excelled the previous year ; Tracey had also earnt the right to one, but she had declined since it was "such a chore" to walk the extra distance to the common room.

Said common room was already busy. It was obvious that some students were enjoying their free day, while others had formed study groups and decided to skip the tournament in other to catch up with their work. The usual lot were already occupying the center seats, near the fireplace.

Draco, his two bodyguards, Pansy, Blaze, Theodore and Tracy, to be more specific. It was their little group. They had hung out since the first year and had practically claimed those seats as theirs.

Wordlessly, she sat next to Tracey, who as always, was clinging to Theodore. They all acknowledged her presence with a nod and resumed their conversation, which consisted mostly on their predictions of the outcome of the first task. Tracey turned around and gave her a smile before turning back to listen to Draco, who was, as always rampaging against Potter.

He was particularly proud of the "Potter Stinks" pins he had come up with. At that point, everyone but Pansy had to roll their eyes. Sure, Potter had cheated and gotten himself into the tournament, but most could agree that Draco had a childish vendetta against Potter.

The conversation came to a halt when professor Snape strode into the common room and informed them that the first task was about to begin.

Ooo

One of the things she always loved about magic was how _efficient_ it was. The stage for the first task had been set up in less than a day from what she'd heard. Sure, it wasn't like the stadium that was built for the quidditch world cup, but the arena served its purpose well enough.

Once all the students that were going to attend the event were seated, the empty seats just _merged_ back into the wooden scaffolding, and she felt her own seat shift to accommodate the extra space provided once the other seats had disappeared.

Despite herself, she was excited. The arena was obviously meant to fight _something_ rather than _someone_ , and she couldn't help but wonder what mysterious creatures the officers of the ministry had dragged out from their habitats just for the sake of the tournament.

Of course, she kept her composure and made it seem as if she was staring blankly at the arena. Her friends didn't comment on it as they were used to her antics. The only one of their group that knew she was excited was Tracey who often gave her smirks when she was not busy with Theodore's lips.

Daphne sighed to herself. Tracy was her best friend, and one of the few that really understood her, but since she was dating Theodore, Tracy had less and less time to just hang around Daphne.

She suppressed the sad smile that threatened to break her stoic expression, although she wasn't quite sure if she had managed to suppress the sadness from showing in her eyes.

It didn't matter as long as she didn't look at anyone in the eye.

Finally, the announcers voice echoed through the arena, and all the conversation in the stands ceased. Once everyone had quieted down the announcer went on to explain some things about the event that they were about to be witness of.

But she paid it no mind however.

" _It CAN'T be!"_ Daphne thought in ecstasy, almost jumping in her seat. She felt a hand grab her by the leg and turned around to see the puzzled face of Tracy.

She let out a smile once she was sure no one else was watching her, and just pointed at one of the entrances to the arena, where, behind bars, a menacing snout was taking whiffs of its environment.

Tracy looked back at Daphne with wide eyes and a smile of her own. Daphne shook her friends shoulder excitedly before settling back into her stoic demeanor.

There was a loud explosion, and her attention was drawn to the gate which held the dragon. It took all her composure not to squeal in joy when she saw a beautiful Swedish Short-Snout lumber onto the arena. The dragon was still bound by a chain which eased the nerves that threatened to climb up her spine.

The first event was swift. She didn't pay attention to Cedric Digory as he struggled to get the golden egg. Instead, her attention was fully on the Dragon before her. There was something about dragons that she really enjoyed. She found them _primal._ Her father used to say that dragons were the perfect embodiment of the aspects that they represented. She was never quite sure what that meant, but she understood that every species had their own quirks and ways about them.

Next came the Welsh Green. It wasn't her favorite, but she still enjoyed the show immensely. Even if the dragon couldn't use the environment to its advantage, as it would when in the wild, the match lasted longer, if only because that dragon seemed to be smarter than the last.

The Chinese Fireball was a sight to see, just as she remembered. Although it was a smaller specimen, it still proved to be a challenge, and a remarkable sight. Longer and slimmer than its European counterparts, it was a lot more agile than the previous ones, and as the name implied, its potent fire was one of its favorite tricks.

Then came the last match. There was a spike of nervousness in her being as she realized that was the reason that Potter had asked her about dragons, but she soon relaxed. That book had been written by her father. Even a first year could survive a dragon if they paid attention to the book.

But as the next beast lumbered into the arena, twitchy and eager to fight, Daphne had to will her body to stay put.

She loved dragons, just as her father did, but there was one species that always mad her uneasy, even from a distance. Hungarian-Horntails.

They were famous for being aggressive, and they were meant to fight, with their bodies covered in bony spikes. It wasn't majestic as the others. They were brutes, the berserkers of the dragon kind; and the only dragon that her father didn't survive.

Flashbacks of the horrible night surfaced in her mind, and she could swear that the long scar in her back tingled at the sight of the beast.

Her breathing quickened, and her fists tightened. She used to feel uneasy about Hungarian-Horntails when she was little, but after that night, she was terrified of them.

She felt Tracey lay her hand on her shoulder and then pull her into a one armed hug; Her breathing calmed down easily enough, and she was able to pull back her emotionless face; good thing too, as some of the other students nearby were beginning to look oddly at her. Now her worry shifted onto Potter, who had just entered the arena, cluelessly looking around.

Sure, there were plenty of ways he could have prepared himself for the challenge, but the dragon was already agitated, and the book she'd given him didn't cover that species, as her father never had a chance to write about them.

The Dragon noticed Potter almost immediately, but it didn't immediately lunge, instead it crouched and hid amongst the rocks, carefully stalking and closing the distance between it and the fourth champion.

Potter took some hesitant steps forward, heading towards the golden egg. The dragon then lunged and landed between the egg and Potter, letting out a mighty roar that made Potter stumble backwards. The dragon swiped furiously at Potter with one of its claws, but the boy managed to dodge and ran towards the rocks that littered the arena, hiding in the crevasses and trying to get as much distance away from the dragon.

Daphne noticed that, even if a good majority of the students attending were still wearing the "Potter Stinks" badges, most of them were cheering for him. For her part, she was sitting at the very edge of her seat, trying to act as composed as she could.

Hungarian Horntails famopusly were an aggressive species, quite a bit more than the previous dragons in fact. If it saw even the tiniest chance to roast Potter with fire, or just maul him to death, it took it.

Potter had tried many times to cast spells, but he was always forced to dodge an incoming attack before he was successful.

The more time that passed, the more furious the dragon became, but despite that, Potter managed to get away in time. There had been a few close calls in which the boy escaped with one or two burns on his clothes however.

Another firestorm roared across the arena, and the students held their breath until they saw that Potter was still intact. While most of them let out a relived breath, Daphne's heart was thundering in her chest.

She knew what he had done to get out of that one of course.

" _If a dragon is breathing fire at you, don't dodge to the sides or the back, roll under the stream of fire and get out of there as fast as you can"_

She remembered clearly the passage that her father had written in his book. That was advice that he used to live by.

She relaxed a little bit when Potter managed to gain some distance from the beast and cast a spell. She didn't hear what he said, but as soon as he was done, he continued running away from the beast.

A few seconds passed, and nothing happened, then, as if Potter was chasing something, he sprang out of the crevasses in the rocks and ran as fast as he could towards the egg. The crowd erupted with excitement, while some other students became horrified at the reckless move.

The dragon didn't waste any time and lunged at Potter with its claws. Potter managed to dodge to the side, although it seemed that the Dragon had managed to scratch him by the cheek. The boy didn't even seem to notice as he continued his mad dash.

The dragon let out another stream of fire towards Potter, and Daphne's eyes widened in horror as the flames seemed to engulf him whole.

But when the fire died down, and tears threatened to break free from Daphne's control over them, there was nothing. Not the charred corpse that everyone expected to see nor the agonizing screams of Potter dying.

Just the scorch left by the fire on the surrounding stone.

Her eyes looked around desperately, as did everyone else's. Someone exclaimed and pointed into the air above the arena. Daphne followed the direction that the student was pointing at and found Harry Potter smiling while floating on top of his broom.

She relaxed a fair bit when she spotted him. He was well away from the range of the dragon's fire, and the beast was still chained to the grou-

SNAP!

Her eyes widened in horror at the sound of metal breaking. The beast took flight after Potter before any of the handlers could do anything about it. Potter noticed it and immediately dashed away from his pursuer, who seemed ten times more dangerous while in the air.

After some midair maneuvering, they soon faded into the distance, and chatter exploded in the stands.

Malfoy and company were sniggering and mocking Potter's performance while some other student slowly regained colour in their faces.

Daphne felt a hand rest on her right shoulder and turned to see Tracey staring at her with an amused expression.

"You seem to be really invested in Potter eh?" She teased.

Daphne let slip a small smile. "It's not like that… it's just…"

Tracy Nodded knowingly "You haven't seen a Horntail since that day, haven't you?"

Daphne nodded silently "I was… worried…"

When Tracey's eyebrow shot into her hairline, Daphne added "I didn't tell you this but, he found me in the library, and he asked me about dragons" she confessed.

When Tracey didn't say anything, she continued "And I gave him the book my dad wrote…" she said, giving Tracey a meaningful look.

"So? Your dad was the best of his field, you probably handed him the key to winning here" Tracey laughed.

"Well, dad… didn't do too well against that dragon…" Daphne said sombrely at Tracey.

"I know, I know" Tracey reassured her "I was at the funeral, remember? So, you were thinking that if your dad didn't do too well against that thing, what chance did Potter have?"

Daphne just nodded while staring at the empty arena.

Tracey sighed and leaned into Daphne's ear. "Daph, you know that what happened to your father was different. If it had been any other day just handling dragons he would have been fine right?"

Daphne shrugged "I suppose" She said to Tracey and offered her a small smile.

The stadium soon started cheering and pointing at the sky. The girls turned to look at the sky and sure enough, something was coming.

It was flying awkwardly, and it was quite smaller than a dragon. Soon, everyone else managed to make out the silhouette of Potter flying towards them.

Daphne relaxed back into her seat when she saw him. _"Well, at least I didn't get the boy who lived killed"_

 _ooo_

After that, Daphne didn't pay much attention. The end announcements came and went, and she found herself walking alongside the rest of the Slytherin's on the path towards their common room. Most of them were still discussing the performances of the champions.

Her mind however was dwelling in the opposition that the champions faced.

" _Dragons…"_ she repeated to herself in her mind. She wanted to squeal like a little girl and jump up and down in excitement, in fact she probably would once no one was around her.

Her cheeks reddened when she thought about getting caught acting so out of character. There was no way she was showing that side of herself in front of Draco again… or anyone else that wasn't Tracey for that matter.

When she got to her private room, she sat on her bed; She then undid her ponytail, set aside her earrings and stared at the wall for a minute without doing anything. Sure, she was excited about the dragons she saw that day, and it had been years since she had been that close to one. But there was something nagging at her and occupying her mind.

Harry Potter, the so-called Gryffindor golden boy, the guy who cheated his way into the tournament and he who was an arrogant git as far as every Slytherin was concerned… Harry Potter survived a fight with a Hungarian Horntail, the dragon species that had killed her father.

Sighing, she went to her trunk and rummaged in it for a bit, then she procured her own, personal copy of "How to deal with dragons".

She had read and re-read that book a dozen times; In it, any piece of information, any tip and strategy that her father knew about fighting dragons. In essence, it was a resume of his entire career, without the details that were best left for any other bestiary or 'scholarly' tome.

She read the first few passages with a smile.

" _So, you are facing a dragon… How did you even get into this mess? Well, that's not my business really; All I need to do is to increase your chances of making it out alive. The first thing you need to remember is that you are in TROUBLE. I know, obvious isn't it?_

 _But in how much trouble are you really in?_

 _Are you alone? Do you have a wand on you? How far away from the dragon are you? Does it fly? Is it a lumbering and sluggish beast? Or a cat sized pest?"_

Daphne chuckled at the last bit as she always did. It was circled with ink and had a note under it, written in her father's handwriting.

It read: _REMEMBER; you and your sister aren't allowed one of those until you get a license!_

She smiled and set the book down on her bed.

Was there _something_ else about Potter? Sure, there had been rumours the previous years and everything, but what she witnessed that day… The other champions were more experienced, the best in their generations as they said. Knew more spells and probably had prepared themselves months in advance before coming to Hogwarts. Even if Cedric had looked as frightened as Potter, but he still was one of the best students the school had to offer.

But Potter… Years younger, average at grades… Had somehow managed to tackle the most dangerous dragon of the event, and managed to do it better than some of the other champions.

She sighed again. She wished she could somehow ask Potter about it, but there was no point in even trying. She was embarrassed at the prospect of asking about a potentially private topic. And if he really was the git everybody thought he was, then she would rather avoid being ridiculed by the golden boy.

There was a knock on her door, before it opened. There were few people who the charms allowed in so easily, and one of those was her sister.

"Hey Tori!" Daphne greeted her sister with a smile.

"Hey!" Astoria replied her expression somewhat sullen

"Something happened?" Daphne asked, rising up from her bed and walking towards her sister.

"Had to slap John today, he was getting too frisky" Astoria said, earning a chuckle from Daphne

"How do you do it?" Astoria asked looking at her elder sister with a scrutinizing gaze.

"What?"

"Well, you know…" Astoria did some gestures in the air as if she was slapping someone in the face. "Slap those guys as if they were nothing and walk away with that blank face of yours"

Daphne let out a laugh while her cheeks reddened.

"Practice I suppose" She said, sheepishly "I've been doing it since first year"

"Hah!" Astoria grinned, remembering the few incidents that had earnt her sister her famous moto.

She then remained silent for a while when she spotted the book on top of Daphne's bed. Daphne looked towards where her sister was staring, and she too fell silent.

After a while, Astoria looked at her sister with something akin to sorrow in her eyes. "That was the same dragon that killed dad wasn't it?" she asked.

Daphne nodded sadly and turned to look at Astoria. "Yea… How are you doing?" she asked

Astoria shrugged "It was a long time ago… how about you?"

Daphne caressed the back of her neck a little, then grabbed a hand mirror she had lying about and positioned it just so she was able to see the very tip of the scar that poked out from her t-shirt's collar.

"It brought some memories" she answered. She then shrugged and let the mirror back where she found it.

Astoria nodded silently. "Oh!" she exclaimed, having remembered one of the reasons she had come to Daphne in the first place.

"Hey Daph, care to help me with my homework? I swear McGonagall has it in for me!"

Ooo

"Do you think she knew?" Hermione asked Harry.

It was the day after the first task and things where somewhat back to normal. Even Ron was hanging around them in the library.

"I don't think so" Harry replied while he caught up with an essay he had left for after the first task.

"Know what?" Ron asked while he too did some work, albeit begrudgingly.

"This!" Hermione said, pulling out the book that Daphne had handed Harry days before the task

"Harry stumbled upon Greengrass before the task, long story short, he asked her about dragons, and she gave him this" Hermione handed the book to Ron, who gave it a quick look over before handing it back to Hermione.

"So you are thinking she knew about the first task?" Ron asked

Hermione shrugged "I'm not sure, what I do know is that the book was written by someone in her family"

"Huh…" Ron said, and then turned towards Harry, who was almost done with his essay.

"So, mate, you actually talked with the ice queen and walked out unscathed? What gives?"

Harry grinned and shrugged "I have a way with beasts!" He said, mimicking how Hagrid had praised him after the first task.

Ron snorted while Hermione sighed.

"That's not very nice Harry" she reprimanded

"Well, she is scary!" Ron said "I heard that in second year she slapped Malfoy! She has also slapped Seamus, and that older bloke from Ravenclaw… Granted, he did try to look under her skirt"

Harry sniggered, and Hermione just huffed with annoyance.

"Well, she is pretty, I'm sure she gets a lot of unwanted attention" Harry said while cleaning his quill

Ron and Hermione shared a look when he said that, which went unnoticed by Harry

"Well, I Promised McGonagall id give her this as soon as I was done with it" Harry said while waving his recently finished scroll in the air.

"Catch you guys at dinner?" He asked while walking away.

"See ya there mate!" Ron said as Harry walked away.

When Harry was no longer in sight Ron turned towards Hermione

"Do you think he has a thing for her?" Ron asked

"They have barley spoken to each other Ronald" Hermione retorted

"She's the first girl I've ever heard him call 'pretty' though"

"I'm sure he thinks lots of girls are pretty Ronald, honestly, he IS a boy"

Ron shrugged and went back to reading

Ooo

Harry strode towards the transfiguration classroom while mentally making sure that he had covered everything that McGonagall had asked for in his essay. Most students had gotten an extended period to turn in their assignments since the first task of the tournament was taking place. While he didn't really have an obligation to turn in his, he still wanted to be in good graces with his head of house.

When he got to the classroom, a few students walked out, discussing their respective grades in their assignments. When he got in, the classroom was mostly empty, with only another student at McGonagall's desk.

When he approached, he noticed the tight, blond ponytail at the back of the student, and realize who it must be.

"MS. Greengrass while I applaud your dedication to see your sister succeed, doing yourself more than half her homework, again, is not a good way to help her improve in what is by far her worst subject."

McGonagall stared down at Daphne with a sever expression. While the usually stern professor wasn't being particularly hard on her chiding, she did seem somewhat exasperated at the Slytherin.

Harry noticed that while Daphne remained impassive while facing the professor, she was anxiously playing with her fingers behind her back, shifting her weight from foot to foot every once in a while.

"From now on I will be paying closer attention to your sister's assignments to make sure it was her who completed them. If you wish to keep aiding your sister, I expect that you try to explain and help practice the concepts to Astoria, and not help her finish her whole assignment yourself, are we clear?"

At Daphne's almost imperceptible nod, McGonagall finished.

"Very well, you are free to go MS Greengrass"

Daphne picked up her bag from the floor and turned around. Being unaware of Harry's presence behind her, she jumped a little bit when she spotted him.

Harry didn't say anything, but just smiled and raised his hand to say hello. Daphne did the same, albeit a little bit more hesitantly, and eying Harry with what he could only describe as mild curiosity.

"Thanks for the help the other day" he said once he had lowered his hand.

Daphne said nothing but gave a tiny nod of her own, her blue eyes staring impassively at Harry.

McGonagall cleared her throat "Mr. Potter? Can I help you with anything?"

"Oh yes!" Harry said, procuring his assignment from his own bag and handing it to the professor.

Daphne took that as her cue to leave, but before exiting the classroom, she took another look at the Boy Who lived over her shoulder, and then left.

 **I guess the real story begins after this chapter, I just needed to set up a few things and dump a little bit of exposition here and there.**

 **While I hope you guys like it, do keep in mind that this is mostly un-edited, so if there are a few spelling and phrasing mistakes, bear with me a little bit while I find the time to properly go over this chapter. That will probably happen sooner rather than later, as I'm not too happy with how the last bit of the convo between Ron and Hermione turned out.**

 **Anybody has any tips on how to write dialogue? PM me pls.**


	3. Chapter 3

Well, the support for this story has been amazing! I'm very grateful for the interest so far, and all the reviews!

The FF editor decided to be done with all my Italics so if you see a pargraph preluded with - that means someone is remembering something.

Chapter 2

Harry was not Naïve. He realized ever since his first year at Hogwarts that being the boy who lived would come with many unpleasant surprises. At first, it had been the stares of awe and all the people that practically grovelled at his feet when he met them. Then, the issue with the Sorcerer's stone and all the shenanigans that came his way in his first year made him realize that he was probably always going to be caught in the middle of something.

His suspicions were proven true in his second and third year, where all that happened to him was somehow related to Voldemort or the war that came with his rise to power.

He never suspected however that one of the toughest challenges he had come across would be regarding the fairer sex.

The Christmas Yule ball was drawing close, and he had yet to find a date. And that challenge seemed to be unsurmountable. Fighting a dragon? Just go research what you had to.

But girls were different, complicated. No amount of reading or advice that was given to him seemed to be good enough.

In the end, It always came to him being frozen like a statue a few meters away from any girl he had considered asking out to the ball.

So that's how he found himself sitting near the edge of the black lake, just looking around at grounds of the castle, thinking what to do next.

He smiled sadly at the many couples that strolled around the grounds, slowly and happily. Some of those couples had existed before the ball was announced, and many others had begun due to it, as many of the invitations turned out to be genuine declarations.

Sure, there were still students running around like headless chickens desperate to find anyone who would at least accompany them through the night, and some others had had so little luck in finding a date that they had outright decided to go home during Christmas.

What came as a surprise, however, was that even Daphne Greengrass had a date for the night. He smirked at the thought of the Ice Queen accepting someone's offer.

It had been quite the comical sight if Harry was honest with himself; The Drumstang student that had had the guts to approach her had been stammering and sweating, and when he finally managed to stammer out his offer in broken English, all that she had done was rise a curious eyebrow and didn't say a thing for an entire minute.

The poor guy had stood still like a statue all the while, moving only to flinch whenever Daphne shifted her posture.

The students, Including Harry, that were witness, soon started chuckling at the expression on the guy's face. It seemed that Daphne's reputation had reached the students of the foreign schools.

As time went on, the Drumstang student began calming himself and seemingly understood why the girl had her reputation. He started to back away, but suddenly, a low sigh from the Ice Queen drew the attention of everyone present. Without saying anything she looked at him in the eye and nodded slowly.

Everyone stood stock still at that.

When Daphne began leaving she turned around to look at the boy that had asked her, and without giving anything away in her expression, she commented that 'something blue would compliment his eyes nicely' and then left.

Everybody present seemed to be awestruck at her acceptance, especially the Drumstang student who staggered back as if he had just dodged a deathly curse.

Harry sighed and suppressed the slight pang on jealousy that sprung in his heart. He had considered asking the Ice Queen to the ball if anything because he thought that she would make an interesting date.

As it was, he was beaten to it. Not that he expected her to accept, after all, she was a Slytherin AND the Ice Queen to boot. So, he was back to square one, and with the Yule ball being less than a week away, the anxiousness to get a date was making Harry nauseous.

Furthermore, he didn't exactly have the support from his closest friends. It wasn't like it was at the beginning of the tournament, however. Ron wasn't being a jealous prick, and Hermione wasn't eying him with doubt, as she had been those few first days after he was announced to be a champion.

Simply put, they seemed to be stuck in the same situation as him.

Poor Ron had made an allure induced attempt at the French champion, which only ended in the ridicule of his peers. What was worse was that Colin Creevey had been around and managed to take a picture of Ron's drooling expression when he had asked.

Fleur seemed to accept that Ron was not and would never be the kind of man who could withstand her natural allure, and as sympathetically as she could, she told him that she already had a date.

For his part, Harry was sure that he could withstand the allure to some degree, and he would have considered asking her for the ball if it weren't for the 'Little boy' comment she had let slip when he was selected to be a champion.

He liked the French witch well enough but that comment stuck to him.

He was about to begin walking around the lake when he heard something that intrigued him. He knew that voice, or at least he thought he did.

It was coming from behind the trees near the edge of the lake. Without anything else to do, curiosity took over him, and he casually approached the area where he thought he heard the familiar voice.

As he approached, he distinguished two voices talking to each other, occasionally interrupted by laughter, giggles and pained squeaks.

Behind the first row of trees, there was a small clearing. He knew the place well enough since the older students always talked about meeting there to hang out with some semblance of privacy.

But that day it seemed that the spot was taken by Daphne Greengrass And Tracey Davis.

They were dancing, or at least it looked like they were trying.

Harry raised an eyebrow at the odd sight and carefully moved behind a tree nearby, least they caught sight of him.

There was another attempt made at dancing that quickly fell apart as Daphne tripped and fell.

Tracy shook her head in amusement as Daphne laid face down on the grass, seemingly defeated.

"Oh, Daph… Why did you decide to go to the ball if you don't even know how to dance?" Tracey said as she helped Daphne to stand up.

"Told you already" Daphne grunted while wiping away the grass from her uniform.

The usually stoic and emotionless face she always wore was nowhere to be seen, and instead, a frustrated expression took its place.

"I sent a letter to mom and she was scandalized when I asked if I could come home for Christmas," Daphne said dejectedly.

Tracy took a step forwards and took Daphne's hands. She corrected Daphne's stance, posture and then guided her hands to where she was supposed to hold her date while dancing.

"You could just not attend you know?" Tracy stated as they began to move about the clearing while going through the motions of the traditional dance, although at a slower pace.

"And be the laughing stock of the Slytherin House? No thank you"

Daphne seemed to be in deep concentration, glancing occasionally at her feet while she followed Tracey's lead.

"Why do you think they care so much?" Tracey asked

Daphne separated herself from Tracey after accidentally treading on her friend's foot.

"I don't Know if they do," Daphne said as she once again took her position with Tracey "But I don't want to find out if they actually care."

From the side-lines, Harry watched intrigued. There was something appealing about the not stony-faced Daphne. She even seemed vulnerable and was putting in the effort to cover it up.

"Owww!" He heard Tracy exclaim, and looking over at her, he saw her clenching her shin with both hands.

Daphne was near her, laughing and apologizing. Harry smiled at the laughter.

Seeing someone who was usually so reserved act normally was a little bit endearing.

"Honestly Daph!" Tracy chastised as she got up. "What is it you tell me you do during summer? Oh yea, fencing… I seem to recall that that needs pretty fancy footwork."

Daphne laughed at Tracey's scowl

"It's not the same!" Daphne informed her friend

"Yea yea, tell that to my poor feet. Honestly, if we don't fix this soon, everybody will know that Daphne Greengrass is a lousy dancer after the ball"

Daphne's expression immediately sobered up at that.

Harry watched them dance for a few more minutes before he left towards the castle. He had learnt something important by watching the girl's practice.

He had no clue why, but it seemed that dancing was very important in a girl's mind. He already knew that of course, seeing how excited all the girls got when the ball was announced, but he had had no idea how important it actually seemed to be. With trepidation in his heart, he set off towards the castle. It seemed that he had neglected more than finding a date.

It was bad enough that he didn't yet have a date for the dance, but the thought of disappointing whoever happened to accompany him to the date was terrifying. However, he knew who might help him, and with any luck, he might be able to shoot two birds with one stone. And luckily for him, he knew precisely where to go.

On his way to the library he sighed, anxiousness was trying to take over him, but as soon as he thought about abandoning the whole ordeal and dealing with the consequences later, he realized that doing so would be more trouble than it was worth; he was already stuck with the stupid ball, so he might as well do things properly, least he be known as Harry Potter, the boy who can't dance, or the boy who ditches important events because he procrastinated.

As he thought, his target was inside the library, not studying but rather making sure that Ron actually completed his homework.

Hermione noticed him approach and waved at him Happily.

"Hey 'mione, how's Ron Doing?" Harry asked as he sat at the same table as them.

Hermione sighed and shook her head "I didn't even know you could get that far behind in your assignments"

Then she glanced at Ron who was furiously scribbling down in a roll of parchment.

"The worst thing is that I can't actually help because the class that Ronald chose to fall behind the most is divination."

Ron scowled at Hermione but didn't say a thing, then he looked at Harry, nodded his head as a greeting and went back to his work.

"Hermione…" Harry started, looking at anywhere but her. "I got something to ask you, do you mind if we spoke somewhere more… private?" Harry said, playing with his fingers and still avoiding her gaze.

Intrigued, and slightly suspicious Hermione nodded and stood up. She led Harry to a secluded spot in the library.

She turned around and looked curiously at Harry.

He struggled with words for a while before starting.

"So… you know the Yule ball is next week, right? Well, I was wondering if maybe… you could…" he avoided her gaze, unsure of what to say.

"Oh Harry…" Hermione started, her cheeks tinged with pink "I'm sorry… I already have a date"

"Oh! You do?" Harry asked ins surprise, all the while he shifted around nervously "Well… that… wasn't really what I wanted to ask you"

"It wasn't?" Hermione looked surprised at Harry.

"Well… I mean I did" he admitted.

When Hermione was about to speak, he continued "Never mind that… I was hoping that you… could maybe… …teachmehowtodance?" He shifted uncomfortably.

"What?" Hermione asked, puzzled, and Harry sighed in defeat "I haven't been practicing… since McGonagall taught us how to… dance"

Surprize sprung in Hermione's eyes and a meek, somewhat awkward laugh escaped her. "You want me to teach you how to dance? Well… sure… I'm sure Viktor won't mind…"

Harry Looked oddly at her "Viktor? As in Viktor Krum? He's you date?"

Herminie's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with both hands, staring horrified at Harry.

Harry stood there at a loss for words; he hadn't intended to ask her, he knew that, but then why he had said he did?

Finally, he smirked and asked, "How did that happen?"

Hermione however, was still staring at Harry in horror "I swear Harry! It doesn't mean that I don't support you, or that I wish that Viktor wins or anything, and I was going to tell you but I also wanted it to be a surprise an-"

Harry put his hands on her shoulders. "Hermione! It's fine, I'm glad for you"

Hermione breathed in again while looking at Harry with wide open eyes "I-Its fine?"

Harry smirked and made it as if he was thinking it over.

"Harry…" Hermione whined, pleadingly.

Harry smiled at her. "So… can you teach me then?"

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and said. "Ill meet you at seven near the clearing by the lake okay?"

Harry nodded and let her go back to watching over Ron.

"The clearing by the lake huh?" Harry wondered if that counted as Irony.

ooo

Harry separated himself from Hermione with a tired sigh. Sweat was starting to drip down from his forehead, and his breathing was laboured and ragged. The ball was the next day and Harry had been working nonstop to find a date and learn to dance to some degree.

What happened with Cho had been the closest he'd gotten to getting the issue over, but that didn't go to plan, as it seemed that whatever hints and looks she might have given him through the year were fake… Or at least Cedric got to her first.

Hermione straightened herself up after she too caught her breath. For the last week, they'd devoted hours to practice. The first few days were rough on Hermione's feet, shins and patience, but the improvement was noticeable in Hermione's opinion.

She smiled at Harry. "Would you look at that!" she said with a sincere smile "My toes are intact!"

He smirked and sat down on the only patch of grass that hadn't become muddy after their hours of practice.

"Thank you, Hermione," he said with a warm smile. His expression then sobered up and sighed, looking at the setting sun through the trees.

"Now all I have to do is find a date" he muttered dejectedly.

Hermione sat beside him while nodding mysteriously occasionally looking at him with mirth. Harry looked oddly at her.

She smiled at his expression.

"What if I told you that that isn't a problem anymore?" she said, cheekily.

Harry stared at her puzzled, intrigue shining in his eyes.

"I happen to know of a pair of tweens that have been also struggling to find a partner." She said in a sing song voice.

"I'm not going with Fred OR George Hermione," he said with a serious expression, although the corners of his mouth threatened to twitch upwards as soon as he said that.

Hermione laughed out loud "I would LOVE to see that," she said when she was done giggling.

Harry looked oddly at her, a hint of something in his eyes. Hermione's breath hitched at his stare but looked down afterwards.

"The Patil twins" she confessed.

Harry's eyebrow shot to his hairline in surprise. "Padma and Parvati? Really? I would have thought they would be some of the first to get a date!"

Hermione smiled. "They'd plenty of offers, but from what they told me, they were hoping you would ask one of them"

Harry stared incredulously at Hermione "Me?"

She nodded "Yup. It seems like they had a crush on you since last year."

"I never would have guessed" Harry admitted thoughtfully after a second.

"They aren't ugly," Hermione told him thoughtfully. Harry looked at her with a 'Duh' kind of look.

"And any one of them would be good for you too" she prodded.

Harry laughed and smiled at Hermione "Getting a wee bit ahead of ourselves Mione'"

She shrugged noncommittally.

"Why are you so interested in my potential relationships all of a sudden?" he asked, curious, yet serious.

She sighed and turned to look at him slowly, almost hesitantly. "With what happened with Ron at the beginning of the year… I thought that you might need someone else in case we ever failed you again" she admitted, clutching her knees to her chest.

Harry scoffed and lifted her chin with his hand, although he didn't let it linger.

"Neither of you did," he said simply. He looked up to the darkening sky in thought, then looked back at her.

"Ron…" he began, choosing his words with care. "He has five older brothers, all of which are really successful at something… all he really likes is quidditch, and he is not on the team… and I got on the team by accident… His sister was in mortal danger, and I got the sword of Gryffindor and I saved her… I got shoved into this tournament when I wasn't supposed to, and all the attention has been on me since then… And that's all Ron really wants… attention." He concluded with a sad smile.

Hermione looked strangely at him "Since when did you get so insightful?"

He shrugged. "After the first task… I got thinking about what he did… I was angry at him sure, and who wouldn't be? But until he apologized… I never stopped to think why he had done what he did"

"What about me?" she asked suddenly.

"What about you?" he asked with confusion.

"Those first few days… I doubted you Harry" she admitted as tears threatened to break out of her eyes.

He smiled at her a toothy smile. "You doubted me, maybe, but you didn't leave my side, even if you did doubt me. I like to think that even if I had entered on purpose… you would still be there… scolding me for being stupid, but there"

"Oh Harry," she said with a sad smile "You are too nice sometimes," she said, with an earnest smile. A single tear rolled down her cheek after his words.

He just shrugged and stood up. He extended his hand to her which she took and pulled her up.

"One last dance before I go meet the Patil sisters?" He asked

She nodded with a smile and drew closer to Harry.

ooo

He found the Patil tweens in the main courtyard, who smiled knowingly at him as he approached.

In the end, the conversation with them had been a lot less awkward than he had anticipated. He had been teased mercilessly by them about him needing Hermione to play matchmaker, but It all had been good natured.

He WAS put into an awkward situation whey the sisters had told him to choose one of them. He spent an entire five minutes rooted to the spot under their scrutinizing gazes, his eyes darting from sister to sister like tennis balls.

It was when he had started sweating that the sisters broke out laughing.

"Harry" Parvati breathed when she was done "Would you be more comfortable If I went with you? You do know me better than my sister."

He let out a long breath in relief and nodded at her with a smile.

Padma huffed and crossed her arms above her chest. She refused to meet his eyes, and he could hear her breathing tremble slightly.

Harry immediately tried to say something at her, apologize even, but no words came to his mind, so he just stood there, looking clueless at her.

Padma smiled at him after a while, got close to him and kissed his cheek quickly, before heading back into the castle while stating that she was "Going to find that stupid redheaded friend of his and ask him to the ball"

He caressed his cheek when she left and turned towards Parvati who was still looking at the retreating form of her sister.

"She really did like you, you know?" she told him when she turned to look at him, a tiny sad smile on her face.

"I didn't know" he admitted, looking at Parvati in the eye. "And how about you? Do you like me?" He asked, emboldened by the moment of sincerity between them.

She smiled at him playfully. "I have a crush on you Harry" she admitted "Nothing more"

He nodded at her thoughtfully and found that he had nothing left to say. He moved in front of her and smiled.

"See you tomorrow then?" he asked

She smiled and nodded at him.

They stood there, both unsure of what to do next. Parvati giggled at his clueless face and pecked him on the other cheek.

She then walked back into the castle and he watched her go. When she was out of sight, he still waited a full minute before moving, then as soon as he was sure that she wasn't anywhere nearby, he raised his arms in silent celebration.

Then realization downed on him.

Ron was going to get asked out! He just had to see that!

ooo

His mad sprint took him to almost every corner of the castle. The worst part was that he managed to stumble upon the Weasley twins twice before he finally managed to find a very red-faced Ron, standing nearby the portrait of the fat lady.

'Damn I missed it' Harry thought as he approached his friend, who didn't seem to notice Harry at all.

Harry had to shake Ron several times before the redhead finally re-booted his brain functions. When he found Harry in-front of him, Ron quickly grasped both of Harry's arms and shook him wildly.

"Harry!" he exclaimed, "I just got asked out to the ball!"

"Oh really?!" Harry feigned surprise as best he could "By who?"

"Padma Patil!" Ron said simply and excitedly.

"No way! I just asked Parvati out!" Harry confessed to his overly excited friend.

Harry was sure Ron was about to start bouncing up and down the hallways of the castle, so instead, he dragged Ron to the common room and sat him down on one of the couches.

The conversation struck easily between them as Ron started re-telling how Padma had just walked up to him, asked if he already had a date, and how when he had told her that he didn't, she had declared he was going with her.

Harry chuckled at the bewildered face that Ron had as he told the story.

Their conversation shifted to other things as time went by, and Harry felt relieved to see that their friendship had truly survived the incident at the beginning of the year. Ron meekly asked about his encounter with the dragon, and Harry was happy to re-tell the events from his perspective.

While his first encounter with a dragon had been less than ideal, after a few weeks of composing himself, Harry could happily admit that he was intrigued by the beasts.

But when they began talking about the other girls that they might have liked to invite to the ball, a needle of worry struck Harry's mind.

"Girls…" Harry thought as panic began to settle in in his mind.

He knew NOTHING about girls. Not about dates, formal outings or anything in between.

He'd never really engaged with a girl that had intentions with him other than friendship. Well, there was Ginny of course, but that whole issue was… complicated.

They were… Acquaintances; she was Ron's little sister and Ron was his best friend. That whole situation spelt trouble, even if he liked the girl well enough.

That realization did nothing to calm his nerves, and soon he was unable to stay put. Harry had to interrupt Ron's very deep "Introspection" of Fleur's chest.

"Hey Ron, I just remembered I promised McGonagall I'd go see her when the day was over, do you mind if I run off for a bit?" He said, letting urgency slip into his voice.

Ron nodded "Yea, no worries mate, meanwhile I'll go see if anybody has a set of spare robes they can lend me" he shivered "I really don't want to wear the ones mom sent me" he moaned.

Harry practically sprinted out of the Gryffindor common room in the direction to the owlery. In his way, he glanced at one of the clocks of the castle.

It was ten minutes before curfew. Just enough time to send a letter to the only man Harry hoped could help him.

Sirius Black.

ooo

The snores from his schoolmates were driving Harry crazy. He wasn't even trying to sleep, but the constant noise made his silent vigil maddening. He'd asked Sirius to meet him in the fireplace, just like he had before, with very specific instructions regarding time. He suspected that there would be no time for Hedwig to get back with a reply from wherever Sirius was hiding, so Harry had hastily tried to set up a quick meeting with his godfather. He could only hope that Sirius had indeed received his message and could meet him.

Harry looked out the window, looking at the stars to figure out the time. It was a very nifty trick he had picked up from his astrology classes, and it usually helped him during his night outings when he couldn't sleep.

Harry predicted that it was about three in the morning, the time when he had asked Sirius to meet him. So, carefully, he pulled his invisibility cloak out of his trunk, along with the marauder's map, just so he could keep an eye out in case anyone else decided to wander the castle at night.

Covering himself with the cloak, Harry tip-toed his way down to the Gryffindor common room, and silently lit up the fireplace with a quick Incendio.

All he had left to do was wait. The common room did have a clock on the wall, so there was no need for Harry to check up on the stars. Under his cloak, Harry took the opportunity to glance around the common room.

It was as he remembered, full of vivid red and gold, indeed it remained just like the first day he had set foot on the room. He smiled at the memories.

Time went on, and there was no sign of Sirius in the fireplace. Harry sighed with disappointment and started to make his way up the stairs. As soon as he got there however he found a surprise waiting for him on his bed.

Hedwig was there, standing on his mattress, a letter tied to her talon.

Harry quickly took it off her, giving her a quick caress in the head. Eagerly he read the letter, which contained a single sentence on it.

"The shrieking shack"

Harry smiled and donned again his invisibility cloak, however, when he was about to tip-toe his way out again, he turned around and stared at his trunk.

It wouldn't do for him to walk back into the castle early in the morning in his night clothes. So making use of a spell he had come across while researching everything he could about dragons, he shrunk his trunk and pocketed it swiftly.

The castle had something special about it at night, something Harry had always liked. It wasn't clear to him what it was exactly but there, using the hidden passages of the castle to get out, he felt excited.

The Marauders map was truly a blessing. Without it, Harry wasn't sure he could navigate the hidden passages of the castle without getting lost. In the blink of an eye, he was marching inside the passage underneath the whomping willow.

Once you had been in the shrieking shack a couple of times, it became a lot less scary.

Harry went past the ghosts of the place without any concern, and soon he was in the room where he had first met his godfather. However, he was surprised to find it empty. Suspicion began to take hold of Harry, and slowly he drew his wand.

Who could have intercepted the message? Was Hedwig being tracked? Was someon-

"BOO!"

Harry spun around, his heart thundering in his chest, and began flinging every spell that came to his mind in every direction.

When he heard a familiar laughter cackling near him, he cursed out loud and turned to look at his assailant.

Sirius Black was leaning against a wall, holding his stomach while joyful tears wetted his cheeks.

It took a moment for his laughter to die out.

"Hello Harry," he said cheekily.

Harry glared at his godfather for a whole minute, all the while clenching his fist before he smiled and embraced him.

"Its good to see you Sirius," he said.

"Good to see you too pup" The fugitive said as he patted Harry in the back.

"So, tell me what was so urgent you had to come to ol' Sirius for help" Sirius asked as he sat down cross-legged on the floor. "Is it about the nightmares?" he added as an afterthought.

"The nightmares have been fine lately" Harry said as he too sat down "Mostly shadows and whispers" he added.

"Hmm" Sirius muttered while he illuminated the room with the Lumos incantation.

"What about you?" Harry asked, "Isn't it too dangerous for you to be here?"

"Things have become less agitated since we last spoke" Sirius stated once he was satisfied with the amount of light emitted by the incantation. "Besides, the cave I was hiding in wasn't too far from here, that's how Hedwig found me so quickly" he said with a smile.

"So if it isn't about the nightmares… what was so urgent?"

"Umm…" Harry was at a loss for words, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

"Ohhhh, it's about girls eh? C'mon, spill" Sirius said while wrangling his eyebrows.

"Well, here is the thing" Harry began after fighting through his embarrassment. "The Yule Ball is later this evening and…"

ooo

The aura of nervousness in the Gryffindor common room was palpable. For once, it was the male members of the house who were taking the longest in making sure they were presentable.

Harry had been at it since he got back from the Shrieking shack and had followed Sirius's advice to the letter. He even caught up with whatever sleep he could so that he could at least function later in the evening.

As embarrassing as it had been, Sirius had filled him with plenty of useful advice, from the simple things like how to talk to his date without being awkward to the more complex, like how to look good in his robes without having them re-tailored or adjusted for him.

By the end, he had to prove to Sirius that he could dance. That had been the most awkward part of their whole meeting, but later Sirius had rewarded him with a tale of how Sirius had also thought James how to dance when they were at Hogwarts.

ooo

Daphne was not used to… well, everything that entailed a ball. She was not used to wearing a dress, using heavy makeup or wearing hills.

But what bothered her the most was that she absolutely loathed being forced to attend the Yule Ball. She had asked her mother to go back home during Christmas, pleaded even. But her mother was scandalized at the prospect of "the scion of the GreenGrass family missing such an important social event."

It was Horseshit and Daphne knew it. If her father had been alive, her mother would have encouraged her to come home. But ever since his death, her mom had made it her mission to extinguish any hope of a life beyond boring, mundane jobs.

Thrice had her mother attempted to set her up with the family accountant's boy. Two times she politely declined.

The third time put the boy's possible descendants in severe jeopardy, and it was the only time her mother had been left speechless.

But she hadn't given up of course. There were so many "girl nights" after that, and so many disapproving looks were thrown her way when she didn't behave "lady like".

And now she had to deal with the ball.

Here shoulders slumped, and a weary sigh escaped her lips. An old coil of frustration began to unwind in her, and a lonely tear slipped down her cheek.

She wiped it with her index finger and sighed as her tear was tinged with makeup.

But the coil unwound further, spurred on by the quick glance at the dress that laid on her bed. And frustration slowly gave way to resentment.

She had to attend the dance? Then it would be on her terms she decided.

The small vails of makeup were quickly discarded from her dressing table and into the trash bin. And all that escaped her anger was her bottle of makeup remover. She scrubbed her face furiously with it, unbothered that it might make her look like she'd been crying all day long.

The delicate hairstyle she had spent hours preparing fell apart quickly just by removing the pins she had previously laid out all over her head. Her hair looked wavy in the mirror when she was done, just like her mother's; And when that realization struck a quick flick of her wand straightened it within an inch of its life.

The high heels her mother had sent her to match the dress were quickly set aside and replaced by her favourite pair of shoes. Comfortable and with not to high a heel, to begin with.

She went to her closet and looked for the dress she had worn on her father's funeral. But when her fingers grasped the fabric she recoiled.

Trepidation flooded her heart. Defying her mother was alright, but such a radical change in the middle of the school spelt disaster. She had a reputation, and it was not one of a teenager throwing a tantrum.

She would never hear the end of it, especially by Malfoy and some of the other older students. As angry as she was, her reputation was the only thing keeping her world sane and away from some of the most dangerous people in her house. To show the other side of her would be unwise at best.

Scoffing once more at the dress, she reluctantly donned it, but that was as far as she went with her preparations.

When she was ready she stepped out of her room and reluctantly made her way to the Slytherin common room, which was already getting filled by very eager students.

She scoffed in distaste at the sight of her female housemates, which were all dressed up in their fancy dresses and completely caked in makeup. Well, some of them.

The rational part of her mind intervened with her anger. She knew very well that plenty of them were tastefully dressed. But she wanted to believe that she wouldn't be the only one making an arse of herself in the ball.

She could come up with plenty of excuses for going somewhat underdressed to the ball; that she had run out of makeup, that she didn't want to hurt her hair with fancy hairstyles. And she was hoping that she, being under dressed would give her a good excuse to leave the ball early.

"Daphne?" She heard Tracy's voice behind her. When she turned around, Daphne was stunned.

It seemed that Tracy had spared no trick in the book to make herself look beautiful. A long, royal blue dress that elegantly clung to her figure, shoes that seemed to come straight out of a fairy tale and her black hair was neatly tied into a ponytail, while her bangs were carefully braided and tied to the back of her head.

The expertly applied makeup on her face left Tracy looking like a princess from a thousand years ago, and indeed several of their male classmates seemed to notice.

Unlike daphne, Tracy seemed to relish in the attention.

Her awe must have shown in her face because Tracy burst into giggles. But she sobered up quickly after she gave Daphne a look over.

"Daph!" she told her scandalized "What are you doing here? The ball is in ten minutes! You are halfway dressed!"

Daphne just shrugged her shoulders at that and Tracy was stunned. She approached Daphne carefully, unsure of what was going in her friend's mind.

Daphne was trying to avoid her gaze by looking away and pretending that she was focused on something else, but Tracy cupped her cheek and forced daphne to look at her. Even in the moody lighting of the Slytheirn common room, Tracy could see the angry red marks that surrounded Daphne's eyes.

Daphne held Tracy's stare as best she could as if trying to convey a message to her friend. Tracy pulled her to the side of the common room and asked.

"Want to explain?"

Daphne shrugged again and tore her gaze away from Tracy. "I just hate everything about this"

"Don't you want to impress that Drumstang hunk that asked you out? Tracy tried.

The deadpan look she got in return was her answer

"Oh, Daph" Tracy murmured. She took her wand out and transfigured a flower from a nearby vase into a handkerchief, then, she quietly murmured aquamenti until the new piece of cloth became damp; then she proceeded to carefully wipe Daphne's face.

Daphne for her part looked oddly at Tracy. "Where did you learnt that spell?

"I have an older brother in this school remember?"

Daphne allowed Tracy to continue fussing over her for a while before Snape strode in his usual bat-like fashion.

"Those who wish to attend the ball this night, better follow me; those who do not, better stay here and work on your assignments, least you blow yourselves up in the next potions class. He drawled severely.

A line of students ranging from the fourth year and up quickly vacated the common room after Snape. Some students had already found their partners and were following the professor arm in arm. Daphne gor her part was skulking at the back of the line. Nobody else knew she was skulking of course. She had once again steeled her features into the picture of stoicism.

ooo

The opening to the ball was a rather magnificent spectacle, although Daphne still wished she was anywhere else but there.

Everyone invited had walked into the great hall of Hogwarts to fins it almost completely transformed. It was spacious and well decorated, with banners from all the four houses of Hogwarts decorating the walls of the hall. The crests of the foreign schools, Beauxbatons and Drumstang had each been woven into the flags of the houses.

The long tables that the students used during the year had been replaced by smaller, round ones, all decorated to perfection. A dancing platform had been installed in the middle of the hall and it was where most couples were gathering around, awaiting the entrance of the four champions and their dates.

Daphne's arm hung limply on her date's, whose name was completely unknow to Daphne. She did have to recognize that her date was good looking, and it seemed that he had taken her advice and was wearing a bright blue shirt under his Tux. But other than that, they had shared no words between them.

Oh, how she wanted to be anywhere but there. She wanted a chocolate mug in her hand while reading in her house's library. She'd much prefer to wear one of the ridiculous Christmas sweaters her father had brought from the muggle side of London that being dressed in the stupid, inconvenient, breath depriving dress she was wearing.

Music reached her ears, and she realized she had missed Dumbledore's opening speech. It was time for the champions to formally open the ball, and one by one, alongside their couples, each took the stage and got into position.

Then. The music really started, and the couples at the stage began to dance.

It was quite spectacular if she was honest with herself. Even Potter was doing the dance justice, and his date seemed to be enjoying herself immensely.

Daphne racked her brain for the name of the girl accompanying potter. She, of course, knew of her, but never having shared a word with her or her twin made it difficult to recall her name. Suddenly she felt a tug at her arm and turned to look at her date, who was offering her and invitation to take the stage, as many couples were doing so.

She revealed nothing in her expression, but quietly complied and took the stage too.

The closeness to the man with her was the first thing that annoyed her. He was pressing her quite tightly against him, and his hands tended to wander a bit lower than she was comfortable with. Still, she said nothing and settled into the pace of the dance with ease. There were many surprising couples, to say the least, and some others not so much.

Some couples were tripping over each other and laughing it off with ease, while some glared daggers at each other for every mistake.

She felt a hand slid dangerously close to her bum, and she shot her date a dangerous look, in turn, he greened cheekily at her. She rolled her eyes but said nothing.

They danced for a while until the music changed pace. The fancy part of the ball was about to begin; the part when partners are switched over and over until they came back to their original partners.

The switch came, and she found herself in the hands of Theodore Nott, who greeted her with a slight bow of the head.

The switch came again, and this time around she wound up in the arms of one of the Weasley twins, who seemed to be as surprised by this turn of events as her. Then the last change of the piece came and again she landed in the arms of another man.

However, this time she found herself dancing with Harry Potter. He didn't seem bewildered or anything; he just raised a curious eyebrow, probably due to her current expression of surprise.

But daphne felt different somehow. His hands were gently postured around her. They were firm but not inconvenient, and his expression was… serene.

She'd never been so close to him, and she could see his eyes better than ever. They were looking at her with curiosity, and overall, he seemed pleased.

The time came to return to their partners. The music was building up to that last switch, but when Harry was ready to send her away, her hand didn't grasp anyones. Indeed, if Harry had let go of her other hand, she would be caught by no one. But he didn't let go of her and instead, continued dancing with her as if she had been caught by someone else.

Another couple approached them. It was one of the Weaseley twins who had in his arms Harry's date.

Harry and the Weasley shared a look and a shrug, but it was Harry's date who pointed towards one end of the hall.

There he was, Daphne's date sitting close to a student of his school. His hands on hers.

That hurt. She didn't know why but it hurt.

She looked at Harry, unsure of what to do. He tightened his hold on her and shot a quick look at his date. The girl smiled and nodded and left the Weasley twin alone so that he could return to his own date. Hastily she went to sit at a table where presumably, her and Harry's friends would sit later.

But she wasn't given a moment, as Harry began to dance again, taking her along with him. For a second, she was horrified. The dance floor had begun to empty, and every Slytherin would se HER dancing with the golden boy. But a quick inspection of the place revealed that she was safe.

Almost every one of her housemates were busy with their dates, and Draco and Pansy were nowhere to be seen.

The dance was about to end, and the only ones left were the champions, who also had to close the ball. Somehow, she had become Potter's date, and the last part of the dance was the only one she hadn't practised, as she had assumed she wouldn't need to.

It seemed that Harry sensed her trepidation because he began to guide her entirely. She followed as best she could, but it was for naught, because when Harry grabbed her by the waist to allow her to lean backwards safely, as they pretended to share a kiss, she stumbled, and pulled Harry a little bit lower than he had anticipated.

They didn't fall, but their lips did brush for an instant.

The expression of stoicism she had tied to wear all the time while dancing shattered. Here eyes widened in surprise. Every fear she'd ever had about dating, every insecurity and concern crashed down on her.

He would ridicule her. He would laugh at her along with his friends and she would not hear the end of it until she left the school.

Draco had done so for her fist two years. It was certain that Potter would do the same.

She braced herself for his smug grin and arrogant eyes. She looked fearfully at Potter. But his bewildered expression turned into one of concern as he helped her stand up again.

When they were upright, the first words that came out of his mouth were.

" I'm sorry, I should have held you better"

He sounded apologetic and sincere, and she didn't know what to make of it.

"It was my fault" she managed to say, "I'm sorry".

He smiled at her as he led her to the table where his date was waiting.

"No harm done" he whispered as he parted from her to sit beside his date.

ooo

Harry knew perfectly well why his lips were tingling. His heart hammered in his chest as he took a seat beside Padma, who was happily chatting with her sister while a skulking Ron sat as far away from Parvati as he could.

He had seen the look of hurt that crossed Daphne's face when her date had disappeared. He had seen the insecurity in her eyes when she was left without a partner.

That was understandable, seeing how her partner had gone to someone else. But the sheer terror that had flooded her when their lips had touched had been palpable.

She didn't seem angry, at him. She was just afraid.

But of what?

Was she afraid of kissing? Had someone done something horrible to her?

His mind began to wander, the scenarios and possibilities that crossed his mind became darker by the second. But suddenly he remembered a tiny snippet of information that at the time had seemed irrelevant.

He was walking alongside Ron on their way to the Slytherin common room. The taste of Polyjuice potion still lingered in his mouth. He was nervous. Who knew what would happen if they got caught trying to sneak into another house's common room. But they had to find out if Malfoy was the heir of Slytherin, or at least if he knew something about that.

They passed several students. They didn't seem to pay them any attention whatsoever.

They stopped when they were about to reach the common room. Walking in the different bodies was somewhat tiering and unconfutable.

A group of girls passed them by; they were chatting loudly.

"I swear Daph hasn't been the same since last year" one of them said.

"You never told us what happened between her and Draco" another one said.

They stopped. It looked like they were waiting for someone.

"She had a crush on Draco," The first one said "He was leading her on, it was supposed to be some sort cruel joke, but Daphne thought he was serious… she kissed him, and he started laughing. He told everyone, and they all laughed at her. Some of the older guys thought that she was… A slut or something."

"She was eleven!" One of the others protested

The girl that had been telling the story shrugged. "There is a reason she started slapping and kicking any boy that wants anything with her. Nothing severe happened, but that guy from fifth year got himself expelled after Daph told the teachers what he had tried to do."

"What? That guy from Gryffindor? That's how he got himself kicked out?"

"Hey! You two! Where have you been?

"Oh…" Harry said to himself as he remembered the guy that had been expelled in his second year.

"Harry?" Padma asked from his side, and he turned to look at her and Parvati standing up. It looked like they were ready to leave.

He stood up quickly and began apologizing to Padma. "Hey, I'm really sorry I had to leave you like that, but…"

Padma shushed him by placing a finger tip on his lips. "Don't worry Harry, I understand" she smiled at him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"I had a really good time by the way, but my parents are picking us up before midnight so that we get to spend time with our family" she explained.

"Hope we can dance again sometime Harry" she told him as they turned to leave.

Harry remained there, watching the twins go. In truth, the night had been fun, but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do other than the opening dances.

He looked around him, and to his surprise he found Daphne still sitting nearby.

She seemed… Lost. She was sitting there, back straight, posture prim and proper, hands laid on her lap. Occasionally her head shifted from one side to another as if she was looking or waiting for something to happen.

Harry glanced at Daphne's date, who was content to be sitting at the other side of the room while he held the girl he had left Daphne for from the waist.

His and Harry's eyes locked for a second. Then his eyes shifted to where daphne was sitting for a brief second and looked away.

Harry sighed quietly. It was one thing to embarrass yourself in front of a classmate. But being ditched so blatantly was just an insult to one's self-esteem.

Harry quietly approached Daphne and sat beside her. She didn't seem to notice his presence, or perhaps she was ignoring him, but Harry began speaking nonetheless.

"Sorry about that" He said, picking up the menu laid on the table in front of him and pretending to look it over.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Daphne slowly Turing her head towards him. He glanced over at her once he was sure he had her attention.

Her face revealed nothing.

Harry decided that that look was unsettling. He'd much proffered how she looked in those few times he'd seen her smile.

"There's nothing I can really say to you right now" He began, trying to find words for what he wanted to say.

"But there are still things planned for the night from what I heard" he continued "no point in skulking around is there?"

Daphne said nothing but continued to look at him impassively. Undeterred, Harry offered her the menu, we should eat something while we can; some people were really excited about a band that is going to play next you know? We probably wouldn't want to miss it.

Daphne took the offered menu without a word, after looking it over for a second, she phrased what she wanted in a barely audible voice. When the dish appeared in front of her, however, she remained still.

Harry ordered too. A nice portion of porkchops with apple puree appeared in front of him. Without saying much, she passed Daphne a napkin and began eating.

"Is it pity?" he heard her ask, and he looked up from his plate to find her staring at him, still impassive.

"You said 'we'" she clarified.

He studied her face for a minute, then he shrugged and took a bit out of his plate.

"Your date is a jackass and mine left," he said when he was done chewing. He then looked at her in the eyes.

"I spent so much time preparing for this night; I really want to enjoy it now. Same goes for you; you came here all dressed up just to have that happen to you." Harry shrugged "We should at least enjoy ourselves don't you think?

Daphne stayed silent for a minute. "All dressed up?" she repeated.

Harry took a page out of Sirius's advice when she asked. He nodded at her and smiled "I quite like how you look today Daphne"

She seemed startled for a second. "I'm not even wearing makeup Potter"

Harry froze for a second and looked up from his plate. He looked carefully at her this time and began noticing the small details in her, like the reddened eyes and the lack of a fancy hairdo.

It occurred to Harry that she might have had a bad night even before the ball.

However, he smiled at her and said. "I didn't even notice, you look quite good all the same to me" Daphne didn't say anything after that, but she began eating.

While she did so, Harry snuck glances at her.

He'd meant what he said of course. Daphne was a very beautiful girl, with a sharp jaw and big blue eyes, but he'd never really had the chance to look at her up close. Even when the dance had dictated that they share a moment between then, he had been stunned by her.

The lighting in the hall suddenly changed. The enchanted ceiling morphed to mimic the night sky and wisps of light of all colours began floating around the hall.

There were some squeals of joy from some of the girls in the hall, and Harry saw that they practically began dragging their respective dates to the dance floor.

He looked at Daphne, who had apparently dismissed the commotion and continued eating.

A wisp of light floated near her, shining bright silver light at her face. She didn't seem to notice, or at least she didn't seem to care.

But Harry was struck.

The way that her hair reflected the light… how it made her lips appear moist, and how it made the angles in her face stand out. He didn't know how to put it into words, but he felt something not dissimilar to anxiousness.

The girl beside him was silent and downcast, and he felt a desperate, senseless urge to console her, but at the same time, he was frozen in the spot like a deer caught in the headlights of a car.

Sirius's voice came to his mind suddenly.

"Shyness will get you nowhere pup. Its cute for a child to be shy and hind behind his mom's robes, but a man Harry, a man needs to appear unfazed. When it comes to girls, you need to show them that they can really on you; that even if the situation is uncomfortable, that you can handle it. Sure, you can complain abut it afterwards, you can even discuss it with her if you are comfortable enough, but right there as things are happening, you need to act."

Harry swallowed hard and stood up. He walked around the table they were sitting in until he reached the other side, where daphne was sitting. Throwing caution to the wind Harry cleared his throat in order to get Daphne's attention.

When she turned to look at him, she was met by an outstretched hand and a timid smile.

ooo

Daphne looked at the offered hand with curiosity. By whatever reason, Potter seemed intent on spending the evening with her. He had already told her it wasn't pity for what happened, and so she considered his invitation for a moment.

Most Slytherin's around were to busy with their dates, or just chatting between themselves. Tracy had snuck out with Theodore earlier, and she hadn't caught a glimpse of Draco after the main ball ended.

She looked up at Harry, who was offering her a smile and sighed. She weighted her options. She was sure that if she snuck out of the ball too early word would reach her mother, and at the very least Potter couldn't be worse than her previous date.

With only a second of hesitation, she took his hand and stood up. As she did so his smile seemed to widen, and she wondered what had gotten into Potter so suddenly.

She remembered the brief brush of their lips earlier, and she couldn't help but wonder if that had been more intentional than he had admitted.

Could the golden boy harbour some sort of feeling for her?

Daphne almost laughed at the idea. They had barely exchanged words during the year. He was probably just being nice or trying to be chivalrous considering the events with her intended date.

That, however, did punch a hole in Malfoy's theory of Potter being a complete dung arse. Maybe Potter was expecting some sort of reward for his 'chivalry'. And some part of her wished that was the case, because if he wasn't being nice to get something out of her, then that meant that she and almost everybody else in her house had been wrong about him.

And if that were the case, then what was the truth behind the Gryffindor golden boy?

Harry dragged her gently to the dance floor. They were just about to get there when music began to play.

She stopped in her tracks, bringing Harry to a standstill, who looked at her with puzzlement. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. She was sure that her excitement was evident on her face as she recognized the song.

She, of course, knew the band that was playing. She was a fan after all.

A soon as she realized that the Weird Sisters were playing, it was her the one who began dragging harry by the arm.

She heard Harry laugh behind her as they approached the mob of students that were surrounding the stage.

There was no fancy dance to take place in, just a maddened flurry of movement and singing. They got there, but just as she was about to join she stopped. She wasn't about to go crazy in front of everyone. Much less Potter. Instead, she settled in a spot and was content to watch the band play.

To her dismay, the change hadn't gone unnoticed by Potter, and he was looking at her with an odd expression. She felt herself starting to blush under his gaze, a ting of fear rising through her spine as if he'd just found out a lot more about her that she ever wanted him to.

He then gave her a smile, one that to her eyes clearly said, "I already knew". But there was no mocking in his expression, no incredulousness. Instead, she felt as though he was saying "I understand".

She was put off by that feeling. Harry then turned his attention back to the stage and began bouncing up and down in the spot.

Daphne continued to watch Harry. There was something about him, something different from the boy she had seen blunder his way through the previous three years at Hogwarts.

Suddenly a thousand questions that she had wanted to ask him, came to the forefront of her mind. Questions that she had as a child and that had intended to ask him as soon as she heard his name being called in the sorting in her first year, only to be disappointed when she'd found out that Gryffindor's and Slytherin's don't really talk to each other.

Questions that had arisen in her second year, when she'd heard him speak to a snake, and how he seemed to be involved in all of what was happening at the time. She remembered the warning her mother gave her about staying away from him during the last year.

And questions about the tournament and dragons.

Suddenly, she wanted to ask those questions and to find out more about him.

She narrowed her eyes at the notion. Her Slytherin self told her that he must have an agenda; a reason for being nice to her in the first place, a reason for all the ridiculous rumours about him that floated about in the lips of their classmates.

But the other side of her, the one that she had vehemently denied at her own sorting, told her that it wouldn't hurt to find out. That she'd survive even if she was wrong.

There was a sudden blur of motion going past her, and she turned around to see what she thought had been professor Alastor Moddy, hurriedly scamper away from the mob at the dance floor.

Usually, she would not think much about that, but she caught a glimpse of his hand as he went to look for something in his pocket.

His hand was bubbling or at least it seemed like something was moving under his skin. She felt another presence shift behind her and turned to find Potter staring at the retreating form of the professor, an odd look in his face. It seemed that he too had noticed the abnormal growths on the professor's skin.

Without a word he turned around a went to pick something up, and Daphne recognized it as the famous flask that the teacher always carried with him.

Potter held it with a raised eyebrow and almost fearfully, unscrewed the cap and sniffed.

Daphne was appalled and was about to say something when the look in his face stopped her. There was surprise but also anger and determination.

He looked at her, and with an apologetic look, he mouthed at her "I'm sorry", and then began to follow the professor, hurriedly.

Stunned, Daphne watched Harry leave. She would have been angered at getting ditched for a second time that night. She should have been angry. But something in Potter's expression didn't allow that.

That expression had a purpose, a reason to be. Potter knew something. The barrage of questions she had unanswered about him assaulted her again, and right there and then, she decided that she too would find out what was going on.

Without hesitation, she began following Potter out of the hall.

ooo

Harry ran after the 'professor' taking care to make sure that he wasn't noticed.

He knew the smell of the potion that 'Moody' had carried with him all year. He knew it very well. But that meant that there was no Alastor Moody in the castle in the first place. And that meant that whoever was impersonating the renewed Auror had an agenda important enough risk drinking Polyjuice potion for months.

He followed the impostor to the castle grounds wand in hand. Whoever was trying to pass for the Auror was scurrying away from the most used parts of the castle with vehemence, occasionally sneaking around and about.

Harry followed him all through the castle until he reached the defence classroom, but the door closed before he could get in.

Harry wondered for a moment what to do when he recalled how Hermione had opened the third-floor door during his first year. He was about to cast the incantation when he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder.

He whirled around, wand pointed directly at the nose of whoever had approached him.

He was stunned to find Daphne there, a thin, blond eyebrow raised at him, with her arms crossed over her chest.

Harry let out a long breath as he calmed his nerves.

"What are you doing here?" he managed to whisper.

"People's skin isn't supposed to move like that Potter" she retorted icily.

"So, you saw" he half said, half cursed, pacing around the entrance to the classroom.

"You were sneaking around Potter, hiding away from every light and everyone else… what gives?"

Harry regarded her inquisitively for a second. The witch in-front of him seemed… determined.

He sighed, and taking a leap of faith, he asked: "Have you heard about Polyjuice potion Daphne?"

Daphne denied with her head.

"It's a potion that allows someone to take the appearance of an individual; what you saw was the effect of the potion wearing off" He informed her while listening carefully for any sign of the impostor nearing the door from the other side.

"And how do you know that? Pray tell" Daphne prodded, not even shifting her stance.

Harry cursed silently. He had to tell her, otherwise, she might go around telling on his habits of following professors in the dark.

"I've used it before" he admitted wile sticking his ear on the door.

"Oh? Why would you need to take the app…" she was shushed by a hand being placed on top of her mouth. She looked angrily at Harry and was about to step away from him, but she was not expecting to be shoved to the side and behind one of the armours that decorated many of the castle's interior.

Harry then pushed her against the wall and kept his hand on top of her mouth.

Daphne's expression became horrified, but then she heard the door they had been standing nearby open.

The heavy footsteps of the impostor filled the empty hall. He walked past them unaware of their presence, as he was too busy re-fitting his magical eye to his face.

Harry kept her pressed against the wall until he was sure the impostor had left the hallway. Then, without saying a word, Harry sprinted into the classroom.

He noticed an irate Daphne entering the classroom after him

"What the hell was that Potter?!" She asked with fury.

A long "Shhhhhhhhht!" came out of Harry's mouth and again, Daphne was stunned by the severity in his expression.

Harry approached the door to the main office and too found it locked. Without a word, he cast the incantation alohomora on the door which swiftly opened. Harry entered the office carefully, wand in hand.

"What is this now Potter? Want to peek at the professor's underwear?" Daphne asked, still irate after being manhandled earlier.

"Sorry for pushing you like that" Harry said after a while, his eyes scanning the room slowly.

He then found a chest that had been left open. It was partially hidden under the bed, and the smell coming from it told Harry he had found his quarry.

He pulled it out and opened it, and inside were several flasks of the same design as the one he found on the dance floor.

"Bingo" he said cheekily at daphne who was pinching her nose at the foul smell. He rummaged through the flasks and found one which was still filled, and it was labelled 'emergency'. He handed it to daphne while he continued to rummage through the chest.

"It could be his medicine for all we know" Daphne sceptically said while she examined the flask.

"Nope" Harry said as he procured a set of parchment titled 'Polyjuice Potion' and handed it to Daphne.

"Weird" Harry said, looking around the office.

"What's weird?" Daphne asked as her eyes widened while she read the instructions of the potion.

"Last time I was here, there was another chest" he looked at her with concern evident in his eyes.

"What's so odd about a missing chest?" she choked as she handed back the instructions to Harry, doing all she could to stop tears of fear from escaping her.

"It was screaming… as if there was something… or someone in it"

Daphne became horror-struck. "Could it be the real… The instructions said that you needed something from the person you intend to impersonate… like a hair or…"

"Yep… what a better way to have a steady supply of ingredients than to have the source nearby "Harry reasoned as Daphne began breathing hard.

Before she could say anything else, Harry took her by the shoulders so that she would look at him. "Calm down Daphne… The real moody must be alive for the potion to work; meet me tomorrow by the lake okay? We'll talk about what we'll do, meanwhile, you better get back to your common room"

He told her.

Then she started leading her back to the entrance of the classroom. Once he made sure that no one was in the hallway he turned around to Daphne.

He saw a silent stream of tears running down her cheek, while she covered her mouth with both hands.

"It'll be okay; Tomorrow we'll discuss this with okay? Nothing we can do tonight." He told her while making sure they locked the door as they went out.

Daphne nodded silently.

"Go!" he urged her as he took off in a different direction.

ooo

Daphne ran to her common room, tears streaming down her cheeks.

That had been too much. Someone had been impersonating as their teacher and they had been none the wiser.

The things that he could have done…

She slammed the door of her room behind her and slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor.

Admits silent sobs, she realized that she had probably bit more than she had bargained for.

YES YES, I KNOW. Harry is a tad more mature than in canon, there is a perfectly good reason for that… Okay, I haven't reaaaally figured out why, but it was intended so bear with me for the time being.

Whew, sorry for the delay but I had to re-write this chapter three times before I settled in a direction I liked. Also, I had to deal with two very bothersome exams that took most of my time; they were college admissions exams and I happened to apply to modern English letters! So hopefully we'll see a major improvement in my writing within the year! Assuming I get accepted ofc.

As you may have noticed this is where HAPNE really begins, so from here on out there'll be a lot more interaction between the two.


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh wow, there is now a lot of people interested in this… Jeez, that's some pressure to handle… JK I LOVE YOU GUYS AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT AND AMAZING REVIEWS!**

 **EDIT: For some reason, this story has more favs and follows than some of my favourite stories on the site… what the hell… Jee what a way of making me feel responsible about this story… *wink* *wink***

 **For those who asked, I did get into college! Yei! So writing fanfiction is actually a really nice way to practice for my career, so I guess I'll just get on with it.**

 **Jun-27 Sorry for the long delay! A bunch of stuff has happened! And I had to re-write this chapter like 4 times, and even still, I think I'll re-write it somewhere down the line, as I just want to move onwards with the story.**

 **FYI! My Harry is a tad more mature than in canon, that doesn't mean he isn't a teenager that can f**k up real bad, so just reign in your expectations XD.**

Chapter 4: Sleepless Nights.

Sleep wasn't going to come easy that night, as Daphne found out soon after getting back into her dorm. However, what kept her awake though, wasn't necessarily fear.

In her candlelit room, Daphne clutched her father's book close to her chest, as memories from a happier childhood threatened to bring her to tears.

Above all else. Above the fear of an unknown wizard posing as her teacher, and above the trepidation in getting caught in something dangerous, above all that was Harry Potter.

She snorted to herself as once again the blurry image of Potter reacting to potential danger came to the forefront of her mind.

Stupid, stupid Potter.

Were all Gryffindor's so reckless and such hopeless troublemakers? There were a thousand other ways on how to deal with a situation like that, but no, Potter had charged in, head first into heaps of trouble, like some sort of deluded Don Quixote.

And yet…

A shudder ran up through her spine and left her uncomfortable in her own body. She sighed and clutched the book tighter.

Of course, not every Gryffindor was like that… the ones that were still alive weren't at least. And that was the problem, as only one other person in her life had reacted like that when in danger.

It cost him his life and one of the few things she had to remember him by was the long, pale scar that ran across her back and onto the nape of her neck.

Another shudder ran through her body as the scene played again in her head.

She had been so confused by the Boy Who Lived in those moments. One second he was turning out to be someone decent to hang around with and the next one he went full hero mode.

"Hero…" Daphne muttered, scoffing as she did so…

Her mother had taught her that heroes were self-righteous bastards who want to make the story about them or something along those lines.

Heroes were people who disregarded their own safety for a second in the spotlight…

And yet Potter…

There were so many wild rumours with him smack in the middle. Some were downright ludicrous, along the lines of Potter being some sort of reincarnation of Merlin or something.

But some of the other things, the minor stuff…

There were whispers among the students about the long hours in the library spent by Potter and his friends, along with the rumoured several stays in the hospital wing. And it seemed that she managed to find herself smack right in the middle of one of Harry Potter's supposed adventures.

But there was no way Potter would be daft enough to not take the situation up to the authorities, or at least a teacher. Then again he had completely forgotten to tell her when or where she was supposed to meet her.

As the morning light began filtering through her window, she rose up from her bed and set the book back on her desk.

Somehow her place seemed different, unfamiliar. Showering and dressing up for the day somehow had a new edge to it, and before exiting her private room, the trepidation and fear of an unknown person impersonating someone they were supposed to trust, came back to the forefront of her mind.

It was funny how unsettling Jamais vu really was.

Her first mission of the day was to find Potter and to see what he made of the situation.

She was certain her word alone wouldn't be enough to convince anyone that professor Alastor Moody was, in reality, an impostor. Maybe along with Potter, who was known to be in good graces with the Deputy Headmistress, then, maybe, they had a better chance of being heard.

Potter had told her to meet him by the lake, but s far as she was concerned, the sooner they met up, the sooner they could do something about the whole situation.

Ooo

A ragged looking man stood against the wall of one of the unnamed streets in Knocturn Alley. Half amused half angry, the man banged his fist on the wall.

Stupid. He had gotten careless and he had almost blown his cover. In the middle of the Great Hall no less. He had a good excuse for his lapse in judgment, however.

A wide, cruel smirk spread across his face, hidden under the cover of the night.

'What an unexpected turn of events,' The man thought to himself as he pondered what to do with the information he had just found out.

Well, that wasn't really up for debate of course, but he'd rather avoid that woman if nothing else. The mere thought of meeting her was enough to sober up Barty Crouch Junior. Even if she was an ally… his master had still spoken wearily of her.

Crouch Jr. fiddled with the small flask in his pocket before pulling his wand out from under his sleeve and pointing it at his head. He closed his eyes and focused.

Through his eyes flashed the memory of young Daphne Greengrass dancing in the Yule Ball with Potter, and paid extra attention at the uncharacteristically serene expression on her face.

When he was done and he opened his eyes, the memory hung from the tip of his wand. Carefully he let it fall into the flask, which he sealed and pocketed.

Barty almost jumped out of his skin when he heard another person walk nearby and was quick to leave the area after that.

As he walked, he cursed to himself and took a swig of his Polyjuice Potion.

Oh, how he detested that potion, handy as it was. Despite that, he had to make sure to never be too far away from his supply. He was getting sloppy, and getting caught in the school would spell disaster for his master's plan.

The familiar sting of an eye leaving his socket was enough to make him suck air through his tightly clenched teeth. Then came the dull, throbbing ache familiar to those who had lost a limb sometime in their life.

Of course, the prosthetics helped quite a lot. After all, Alastor Moody was nothing if not crafty. Soon the pain receded and was replaced by the familiar cold that emanated from the prosthetics.

Once he was settled into the body of Alastor Moody, he quickly debated how to proceed. Any Dark wizard worth it's salt would know how to read the signs. They were there all the time, corroding and corrupting at their leisure. It was written in the stone and whispered into the wind.

A primordial evil, which came as natural to life as life itself.

Lesser dark wizards would lose themselves once the learnt how to read the signs, driven mad by the promises of power.

Weak, pathetic fodder that walked willingly into the spider's nest.

A part of him was amused with himself. Before finding his master, he'd almost been one of those fools. The other side of himself still had goosebumps at the prospect of the journey at hand.

With a sigh, Barty Crouch junior inhaled deeply before he vanished in a mist of pure blackness.

ooo

Finding Potter had been a relatively simple task, mostly since he happened to be looking for her too; but once they had spotted each other in the great hall, and after pretending to be too busy to be bothered, Daphne was finally able to get Potter into a more secluded area.

Her first impression of him that day was problematic.

The look that had invaded his eyes right after the impostor's discovery the night prior hadn't left him, and if she was honest with herself, it was a look that did not suit him. She was more comfortable with the idea of Potter being a bumbling, Gryfindoor fool than him having a lot more to him than met the eye.

He looked tired, dissatisfied. As if the man that had danced with her during the ball had received news of a relative dying. Or something along those lines.

"How was your night?" He asked her tiredly while he rubbed his chin uncomfortably as if he had a beard and was itching to play with it if only to just have something to busy his hands with.

She scowled, although she realized he had asked her good-naturedly. It had taken special effort to settle into her normal attitude that day and had no intent to break it until she was back in her dorm room.

He smiled, and although it did not reach his eyes, that simple smile was enough to erase some of the wear and tear that was present in his appearance.

Daphne knew what he was thinking of course; he had seen her lose her composure once already. What was he going to do with that information was beyond her, but she hoped he would forget that detail about her rather sooner than later.

"So, Potter…" She began, fully intending to get matters moving, as who knew what the impostor would be up to.

But before she could continue he raised his hand to stop her. She then heard footsteps, hurried ones, thundering down the hallway they had chosen for their conversation.

She was about to step away from Potter in that instant. It wouldn't do her any favours if she was spotted chatting with Potter in a more or less empty hallway.

However, she stopped once she recognized the rather obnoxious voice of Ronald Weasley calling out for his friend.

"Oi! Mate! Where are you" followed by someone else who, it seemed, was doing her best to shush the redhead.

Daphne sighed to herself. She supposed that it was to be expected, after all, they were called the Gryffindor golden trio for a reason.

Potter waved them over from their spot on the hallway, and a few seconds later they were standing in front of them. The fact that they didn't immediately comment on her presence somewhat startled her, although she supposed that Potter had told them exactly with who he had had his run-in with the impostor.

Granger was the first one to talk to her.

"Daphne!" she said turning to look at her with a worried expression. "Were you safe last night? Did anybody try to get into your room?"

Daphne didn't say anything but she told her 'no' with her head. Granger nodded, seemingly a little bit put out at her attitude, although Daphne couldn't be sure.

"What about you mate?" Weasely asked Potter. "You didn't tell us what professor Mcgonagal told you!"

Daphne shifted her eyes towards Potter. So it seemed that he had more common sense than she gave him credit for, but truth to be told, the sight had escaped Potter as soon as he was asked was a little worrisome.

He passed his hand through his hair and stared at the ground for a second, before looking up.

"She didn't believe me" was what he said as soon as he had looked them over.

A moment of silence passed over the four before Granger spoke shakily.

"W-what?"

The girl seemed to be at a loss for words. If Daphne was honest with herself, she too was a little bit miffed at the news, although she didn't let it show.

' _So that is plan A out of the window…'_ She mused as she watched Potter's friends process the news.

Before any of them could speak, however, Potter just shrugged and motioned them to follow him.

"Harry?" Granger asked as she began following her friend.

Daphne was about to follow suit but before she could do so, she found herself under the scrutinizing gaze of one Ronald Weasley.

"Weasley?" she inquired, making her best effort to keep her face straight. For a moment it looked as if he was about something to say to her, but after a second of silence, the redhead just shook his head and began walking after his friends.

Daphne began moving soon after, intent on following the trio, but far away enough so that most people wouldn't think she was doing so.

That and she felt uncomfortable. She hadn't expected the two other Gryffindors to show up and had no idea what to do now that they were a part of the equation. Part of her had hoped that she and Potter would be able to solve things without anyone else even noticing.

If she was spotted hanging around Potter there could be one or two excuses she could convincingly use. But if she were to be seen hanging around with a group of Gryffindors things would get somewhat problematic in her house.

However, the news that Potter delivered in a single sentence implied that whatever situation they were stuck in wasn't going to go away that easily.

A shiver went up to her spine when she thought about it. Because, why infiltrate a school in the first place?

No student had gone missing that she was aware of, nor did anything important had been stolen, otherwise, they would have been told, or at least the rumour of it would have reached her.

But there was none of that, just someone masquerading as a teacher. And not even the headmaster had seemed to notice.

It seemed he had played his role so well that even the Deputy Headmistress had dismissed the notion of an impostor.

"Daphne?" she heard her name being called out and looked up only to realize she wasn't sure where she was.

It was a room, not unlike the classrooms of the castle, but this one was dusty and riddled with cobwebs. There were some desks and chairs piled on one of the corners. It wasn't dark enough to not be able to see in it, although she could discern no windows on the walls.

Potter and Weasley had busied themselves by lighting up some candles that, undoubtedly at one point, had been used as the room's primary light source.

"Where are we?" She asked.

Granger, who was the one who distracted her from the musings shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not sure, Harry led us to this place."

"Its an old part of the castle" she heard Potter comment while lighting a candle. "I don't know exactly what this room was used for" he added once he had set the candle back onto its mount.

Daphne glanced inquisitively at Granger. She didn't seem surprised that Potter knew some hidden part of the castle, although it seemed that she wasn't going to comment on it, probably since Daphne was there.

The screech of metal dragging across the stone floor made Daphne jump. While she had been thinking, Potter and Weasley had dragged one of the larger desks out from the corner and set it in the middle of the room, along with some chairs.

Granger was the first one to take a seat, setting her bag on the table and quickly unpacking. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was mostly books which came out from it.

"Harry…" Granger began while looking over the books she had brought. "What did you say to Professor McGonagall?"

Potter sighed and sat down besides Granger. "The truth!" he said, out loud, "Well, most of it anyway."

"What do you mean most of it?" Daphne intervened; while she didn't show it, she couldn't fathom the possibility of Potter not going into detail when a situation like that arose, much less when it was with someone who they supposedly trusted.

Potter seemed to think to himself, then, with a look that Daphne didn't recognize, he glanced at Granger, who sighed.

Without looking at her, Granger began speaking.

"Polyjuice potion can be very dangerous… There are records of people impersonating others and destroying their lives… sometimes worse. Students aren't supposed to know about it… Much less know how to recognize it."

She didn't say much, but Daphne was able to read between the lines.

"What did you do?" was all she could ask.

The Gryffindor trio remained silent and shifted uncomfortably in their seats. The unusually silent Weasely let out a grunt, breaking the silence.

Potter, Granger, and herself turned to look at the redhead.

Said redhead sighed and addressed Potter.

"Look, mate, You know I don't like Slytherins, but you insisted that she should be here right? You told me all of these reasons why she should be here didn't you?"

Then he turned to Granger. "And you were the one screaming my bloody ear off about how I should be more open-minded and whatnot, weren't you?

He then looked at Daphne. "She's already here, she has questions already, we might as well trust her shouldn't we?"*

Daphne raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the trio, who shared a look amongst themselves before Potter sighed.

"Alright," Potter began. He looked at Daphne straight in the eye while she too settled into a chair.

"What rumours have you heard?"

Ooo

Another explosion sounded from amidst the trees and Bary Crouch Junior sighed in relief.

' _That should be enough to get them off my back for a little while'_ He mused as he breathed in.

The moment he had come nearby the forest he ditched the idea of even trying to traverse it while disguised as a crippled Auror.

The place screamed danger. It was dark and filled with things that didn't want to be found. His bloody arm was proof enough of that.

An old forest, hidden to the world and the prying eyes of "modernity". Crouch scoffed at the silly name that the muggles had given to their "advancements".

How did they dare to claim modernity? They know nothing. Not about life, nature, power…

The bloody idiots could see a man breathing fire, and they would still deny the existence of magic. So blind they were that they had missed the forest he was now in, even though it was right in the middle of the frozen tundra that is Siberia.

It was probably for the best. Their fancy weapons wouldn't help them in a place like that. And what remained of a more primordial world needed a place to hide after all.

And it was primordial alright. He was no expert, but crouch could feel that magic worked differently there. The rules by which it worked were different.

The legends that were still told around those parts… about crooked looking witches that made their lairs in the hidden recesses of the forest. About the sacrifices, they made to gods with no name. About the things, they did to please their overlords.

And the forest itself held its secrets. Beasts of a world long forgotten, with no place in human lore, still wandered the place. Plants and mushrooms of properties so potent and unknown, that they were still left alone even by the most renowned potion masters of the ages.

Yes, that wasn't the kind of place to pitch up a tent to get through the night. He was well aware of this, and so Crouch kept going deeper into the woods.

Occasionally he found some of the places that the legends talked about. Blood stained monoliths and skeletons that were still strung up by their toes, even after centuries had passed.

The place he was going to wasn't one that one could merely stumble across. By the will of the magic that was hers, only those who were looking for it could find it. And even then she was at best, very selective of those she allowed into her little retreat.

His master had been, of course, one of them, but Crouch knew that if he hadn't been introduced by the dark lord himself, he would never have left the place alive, were he to have searched for it on his own.

Something changed in the air, and crouch stood still, back straight as a soldier's. The forest became quiet, the lullaby of the insects and wildlife forgotten as a much darker presence made itself known to him.

In a whisper carried by the wind, a voice, cold as winter, echoed around him.

' _So, the lackey finally comes on his own, unshielded by the power of his master…'_

Crouch looked around. He tried to do as his master had instructed him. To see the forest and not just to perceive it. To feel its own power and to distinguish it from the power of the witch.

But there was very little he could tell apart about that place and about her.

' _Thinking are we? What brings you her oh so… alone?'_

Crouch had to swallow his nerves at the implications in her tone.

"News, I have news that concern you" he rasped through his dry mouth "My lady" he added as an afterthought.

' _Again? I've already told your master that I don't care about that prophecy of his or that Potter boy'_

Crouch swallowed hard again "This time, My lady, the news that I have brought to you about Harry Potter, also concern your family… the ones that call themselves 'Greengrass'"

The atmosphere changed again, and her overwhelming presence shifted and diminished. The trees began to fade away to reveal a clearing that once, long ago, might have been beautiful. But instead, it was strewn with animal carcasses, and the life of the plants within it had rotted away, leaving them ashen, empty and dead.

"Why didn't you say so dear?"

The voice was accompanied by the hand of a woman, which stroked at his chin almost patronizingly. Crouch dared to glance at her.

He knew not to be deceived by her beauty. The long, golden blond hair and the striking green eyes, the telltale signs of her lineage, and the doom of any who she deemed unworthy.

He refrained himself from saying anything and just pulled out the vial which contained the memory of the previous night.

Not a whisper came from her as she grabbed the memory. The wind didn't rustle the leaves of the trees, and her footsteps didn't disturb the ground.

She uncorked the vial and swallowed the memory whole.

He could see the events of the previous day play in her eyes as she examined his recollections.

The pleasant smile that she wore slowly morphed until it was unrecognizable, and it was twisted into one of the cruellest, most crooked smirks he had ever seen. Her eyes took an unnatural glint.

"Oh, she looks just like me, doesn't she? Although those blue eyes of hers…" she murmured, dissatisfied "but she's still young after all" The witch said through sharp, carnivorous teeth.

Crouch gave a single nod at her.

"And when did you found out hat my lineage had spread all the way to Albion?"*

"Last night, My Lady"

Her pleasant smile returned, her teeth no longer animalistic. With elegance and grace, she began to walk around him, although her eyes never left him.

Crouch winced as he felt the intrusion on his mind. Like a sharp insidious needle, her thoughts invaded his. With the skill of a master and the power of her magic, she entered and left his mind with ease.

"Liar" she whispered coyly in his ear as she strolled around her forest clearing. "But I can't fault a loyal dog for obeying his master's commands, can I? That little plan of his to get that Potter boy alone takes priority in your mind, doesn't it?"

She giggled to herself.

"But now that I can be of… Use, in this escapade of his… I'll give him credit for picking the most cunning ones to be his followers"

She stopped and looked up at the darkening sky

"Go and tell your master that we ought to speak soon"

And just like that, she was gone. The lullaby of the forest returned in full swing, and Crouch was left there to gather his nerves.

Ooo

Daphne listened attentively. What she was hearing couldn't be possible. They were trying to play a game with her, of that she was sure, or had been at least.

As Potter spoke and told her about how he knew the hidden places of the castle, tiny things began to make sense in her mind.

When she asked questions, he answered them, and only a few times did she get the impression that she was not hearing the full story. Potter was being extremely cautious with his words, and after everything he told her, he watched her cautiously.

They had talked about trust, but even then, it was clear to Daphne that it was not something he gave freely. He didn't go into the details but gave her hints as to what really had happened.

Dementors? Sure, fought a whole pack of them. Why? He just shrugged his shoulders. She called him a liar? He shrugged again, picked up his wand, and flicked a Patronus charm into existence.

A beast in the school during the second year? Again, she called him a liar, and all he would do was roll up his sleeve to show her a wound that was yet to fully heal.

A part of her wanted to ask for an unbreakable vow. She knew that that was the only means which she had to ascertain the truth. After all, she knew how to do it, her mother being an expert on such things and all.

But something in Weasley's and Granger's eye's told her that he was being honest enough.

Her latest question answered Daphne, looked at Potter straight in the eye. A second of silence passed in the candlelit room, before she sighed.

"Okay…" Daphne began "I will pretend that what you said is true for the time being… But Potter, I want the full story at some point"

She watched him carefully after that. He had to know that she was pressing for more information right then and there. She expected his ego to flare up and give away some extra details.

But instead, he smirked at her, not unlike how he had done the previous night when she had gotten excited about the music.

"When there is no one disguised as a teacher? Then sure, we can talk" he told her, the smirk never wavering.

That brought Daphne back to reality. As much as she enjoyed prodding the boy who lived for answers, there was a reason they were there in the first place. It was lucky that the Ball had been celebrated in a Saturday, and thus they didn't have to rush to classes.

"Right!" Granger intervened and looked at Potter expectantly. "What happened with the professor?"

Potter leaned back into his chair. "After Daphne and I separated, I went straight to her office; the ball was still going on so I guess she wasn't surprised to see me there. I told her that I saw a strange man coming out of Professor Moody's office, dressed just like him"

"That's all you said to her mate," Weasley asked with a stunned expression.

"Well, Ron, how did you think that that conversation would have gone. Hey Professor, I know for sure that Professor Moody is an impostor; _And how do you know that Potter?_ Well, his office was filled with empty vials of Polyjuice Potion; _And how do you know about that potion mister Potter?_ Oh, I don't know, We kind of used it to sneak into the Slytherin common room in our second-year Professor." Potter said, almost flailing his arms at his friend.

"You did what?!" Daphne intervened, somewhat scandalized.

Potter looked at her while flinching at his own mistake.

"Uh, we were trying to find out if Malfoy was the heir of Slytherin" Weasley answered her.

"Or if he knew anything about… whomever it was" Granger finished.

Daphne sighed and settled back into her seat. Yes, she needed the full story at some point. Potter was the one who could speak to snakes, and he was the one looking at anyone but himself? Everybody in her house knew Potter was the heir of… _Slytherin._

Daphne almost cursed out loud, and she was sure she was visibly upset, but in her mind, she was not at fault. So many of the things she had just learnt were the direct opposite of what she knew, and then some of the things she was certain of didn't really make sense when put together with the new information.

" _Oh Daph"_ She mused to herself " _What have you gotten yourself into?"_

Ooo

He watched her thinking. There was something about her that piqued his curiosity to no end. He didn't know why, or since when, but it was there.

Originally, Harry had planned to deal with the issue as fast as he could. He had gone straight to McGonagall and told her… well, what he could tell her. He should have expected that to somewhat backfire if he was honest. Giving that little details to the stern Witch would go down smoothly.

But he had a tournament to prepare for! That was dangerous enough as it was; he really didn't need to go around playing detective!

And now he had dragged Daphne into it. He scoffed as he realized that merely sharing a few words with her through the year was enough to put her in danger.

And now she was asking questions. He had to admit, that if the situation was any different, he'd be glad to have a chat with her. Maybe not tell her everything but maybe…

Harry sighed to himself in his mind. Now there were things she needed to know to even understand his and his friend's conversations. And while he did pat himself on the back at how he had managed to actually reveal very little, he really couldn't think about a scenario in which she didn't end up finding out way more about him than he'd like.

"So what are we going to do?" he heard Hermione ask, and that brought Harry back to the present.

"We cat stalk a teacher until he slips up, chances are that we'll be found out sooner rather than later" Daphne contributed while she seemed to still be stuck in her own thoughts.

"He might be dangerous y' know?" Ron said, "I mean, if he can pull off this stuff right under Dumbledore's nose, then he probably can do a lot more couldn't he?"

"So maybe the answer is not to 'do' anything to him, all we have to do is oust him" Harry began talking. It was something that he had been thinking about during the night.

"I know someone" His eyes shifted towards Hermione and Ron, conspiracy wrote all over his gaze, "That might know how the real Alastor Moody is like"

Hermione's eyes widened as it dawned on her who he was actually talking about.

"And we can maybe ask around the castle! Maybe someone has noticed something… unusually odd about that man." She said.

There was a moment of silence between the group, as everyone considered what such a plan would entail.

"I don't think that is the best of Ideas," Daphne said in a quiet tone. "If we begin going out of the way to find out something, or act different than usual, there is a good chance that the impostor might notice something is off"

Harry thought it over for a second before he began speaking. "I don't think that we have anything to do as it is," he said, his tone sombre. "We don't have anything to show to McGonagall or even Dumbledore, and you guys are right, he could be dangerous."

"So are we supposed to let that man wander around the castle doing who knows what?!" Hermione raised her tone, and Harry saw disbelief written all over her face when he glanced at her.

"Obviously not" he intervened, stopping Hermione from launching herself into lecture mode. He and Ron knew that if you didn't clarify things with Hermione, as soon as you'd miss-spoken, then you would be subjected to several hour courses on why you are doing something wrong.

Besides, he doubted Daphne would appreciate being subjected to that when less than an hour had passed since Daphne and Hermione had, effectively, talked for the first time.

"We have to keep an eye on him," Harry said in a slightly louder voice, intent on leaving his strategy clear. "But we can't risk going out and actively searching for something; worst case scenario, he is dangerous, or knows dangerous people."

"Not to mention you still have a tournament to compete in, Potter" Daphne added once he was done speaking. Harry suspected, that she would rather not do anything to make her stand out in any way, otherwise people might find her actions too out of character.

"So what do we do then?" Hermione sighed as she slumped slightly into her chair.

Harry shrugged "As I said, we start paying attention to the fake moody, and see if he does anything out of the ordinary at any moment; In a week's time we meet back here, just after breakfast and 'report' anything that stood out."

"Sounds like a solid plan to me mate!" Ron said, happy to finally have a direction as to what to do.

Hermione nodded her consent somewhat hesitantly, but vigorously.

Harry turned to look at Daphne. She, while sitting straight in the chair, was fiddling with her fingers above the desk. Her eyes turned towards him, and with an almost inperceptible nod, she agreed.

 ***1-This is fanfiction, and I really don't do the whole Hate The Weasleys/Dumbledore etc. I think it is pretty excusable that Ronald, after what happened at the beginning of the year with the whole cup fiasco would be more than willing to shut his trap, if only to make it up to Harry.**

 ***2-Albion is another way of calling the island of Great Britan. Fable players will know this** **. I think it's a dated term, and that it follows the narrative that I have planned for this "Witch" quite nicely.**

 **Shorter chapter, I know. Worry not, the next chapter is already in the works.**

 **I chose to leave this one as it is so that I could progress the plot, without having to re-work a longer chapter in the future. As you can see, this onis mostly exposition dumpy, and while I'm glad it went in the direction I wanted, I still think I can do it again but much better.**

 **So don't feel upset if this chapter was sub-par, as I just wanted to give you more to read in a quicker fashion, with full knowledge that I have to get back to this one sometime soon.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everybody! I hope I didn't make you wait too long for this one!**

 **I just wanted to say thank you. Never in my life had so many people read any of my works. Not even outside fanfiction. And to know that, at this point in time, there are more than six-hundred people actively interested in this story, well, it does blow my mind.**

 **It's a very special feeling tbh. It makes me look back at the countless hours I've spent fantasising about fictional worlds and epic battles. It makes me want to write better, it makes me want to give you guys a story that you will remember fondly.**

 **And hopefully, it will be a story that you'd not only like, but a story from which you can, HOPEFULLY, take away something valuable from.**

 **There is still some ways to go. I've begun noticing some of the spelling mistakes I tend to make, and there are some small plotholes that have been pointed out to me. Trust me, I'll strive to correct those Asap!**

Chapter 4: What I want.

Daphne Greengrass was furious. At the impostor, at the teachers, but mostly at herself.

After she had parted with Potter and his friends, she tried to go on with her day as normal; She visited the library to finish an assignment, hung out with Tracey and Theodore while they headed out to Hogsmeade where she bought herself a Butterbeer and even helped Malfoy catch up with his Potions work.

All in all, a normal day. She went through the motions and did what she had to.

Except it hadn't been a normal day in the slightest.

Setting her clandestine meeting with Potter and co. aside. Everything had been turned upside down.

Instead of worrying about nothing like a holiday Sunday requires, she was now alerted at the mere mention of Alastor Moody.

So, nobody had seen him during the day? What of it? It wasn't her business.

Except now it was.

It was a Sunday, and she should have been reading her favourite books and spending time with Tracy. But no, instead, she was trying to figure out why would someone impersonate as a teacher.

She stormed angrily into her private room and began pacing around it. The sensation of Jamias Vu had yet to leave her, and a new, different kind of anxiety had settled into her stomach.

The anxiety that came with uncertainty, she realized. For the past years, all she really had to worry about was school. Then? She would go on and find a job somewhere, probably get married and try to perpetuate her lineage.

That was the idea, wasn't it? What her mother had told her?

At least, that was how her mother thought a proper life was. And she had spent years telling Daphne why it should be so, nevermind that Daphne had once wanted to follow her father's footsteps.

She sighed, exasperation showing in her face as she undid her tie and loosened her hair.

What the hell had she gotten herself into?

At that moment, she hated herself. Because she had agreed to do something she would never do. Because she was a normal teenager who was meant to be studying magic, that was the gist of it.

And now she was playing 'counter-espionage' or something.

Willy nilly she had gone and done something that would make her life a living hell were her mother to catch wind of it. If she were to even hear a whisper of her daughter 'mingling' with a crowd of Gryffindors…

Right there, in her room, she found herself at a loss of what to do. Sitting in front of her desk while idly looking at the moving pictures of her family was not really helping her mood either. Try as she might, she couldn't stop thinking and worrying about… well, everything.

On one side, she could forget about the whole thing and keep things normal. If she really wanted, maybe she could even pretend not to know anything about the impostor and such. And in retrospect, her life would go on much smoother if she did that.

But at the same time… Some part of her didn't want to let down the boy who had, well, been 'nice' to her. The boy that had taken it upon himself to make sure that her night was bearable at least.

She didn't want to let down the only person in the castle who seemed to be… aware of things? The only person who didn't seem to hesitate when life spat right in his face?

Well, if what he told her was to be believed.

And, should she believe him? Was there anything about him that would make her go against her mother's wishes?

As she pondered that question, her eyes roamed the now somewhat unfamiliar room, until they came across the bin full of discarded make-up, and the shoes she had almost thrown out her window the night before.

Her expression sobered up as the emotions of the previous night flooded back into her. The emotions which had been forgotten as soon as she found out about the fake Alastor Moody.

If her mother were still the caring person she knew once, she would have been at her house in southern London for Christmas. And no fake professors, dreadful ball or 'Golden boy' to worry about.

Perhaps what irked her the most about the whole situation was that she knew damn well why she had agreed to go along that 'plan' that the Gryffindors had cooked up. And while she wanted to blame the whole chain of events on her mother… Well, in the end, it had been her, Daphne Greengrass, the one who had accepted that Drumstrang's proposal to the ball.

She had been the one who carried on dancing with Potter, and she had been the one who insisted on following him once he had gone off chasing a professor in the shadows.

Should she have stuck to her guns and miss the ball? Probably.

Should she have stepped out of the dancing floor once she had been ditched? Definitely.

Should she have stayed in the great hall as soon as Potter had darted out to go and follow a professor?

And she found no answer to that question.

The other things she could explain if she wanted to. Shyness at causing a public scene, the ire of her mother if she were to miss the ball.

But the whole thing with Potter…

Sure she had questions that wanted answers. Sure, they had actually talked to each other during the year, and he had seemed like a decent human being.

Maybe it had been the desperation to NOT get ditched a second time in one night. Maybe her curiosity just got the better of her for once.

But when the time came to actually make a decision to be, or not to be a part of the whole ordeal, she had said yes, because she wanted to.

Because in that candlelit room, the opportunity to do something so out of the ordinary had washed away all house rivalries, all prejudices. Because a tiny part of her mind got excited.

Clearly, she was still angry with her mother, and that might have addled her judgment a little bit.

But she knew, that that part of hers that had said 'yes', did so, because the whole thing, in a way, sounded like fun.

ooo

He had watcher go as soon as he showed her how to get back into the 'normal' part of the castle.

Harry Potter had always been curious, nosey even. When the time was right, he liked to believe. But curiosity had been replaced by intrigue in a rather hasty way.

How the hell had things gotten the way they had in the first place?

Some random wizard pretending to be a school teacher? Sure, unexpected, yet at the same time… not really. But _her_? Out of all the people that could have gotten themselves mixed in the equation. It was her, Daphne Greengrass.

As he walked down towards Hagrid's hut, golden egg in hand, his mind couldn't help but think about her and how, she, as a whole, didn't seem to make sense.

Sure, Daphne was a pretty girl, and no one would deny that.

But… there was _something_ else about her. He had gotten glimpses of it already; Through the year, he had been able to read in between the lines.

The question that remained was, why?

Bad things had happened to her, that he knew, and while it was not the whole story, it was enough to understand just a little bit more. But hardship and rejection didn't seem to have stopped her, and while those things had most likely changed her, there were still bits of a sweet girl leftover. She liked books, and apparently, from what he had overheard, she also was a swordfighter. She seemed to be calculative enough for a Slytherin and had a group of friends to boot.

He knew she could smile, and she looked quite good doing so. But it seemed like she wanted everyone apart from a select few to believe that she couldn't. She made herself out to be a cold bitch most of the time, and literally slapped anyone who dared approach her with anything else but the purest intentions.

Why? A bad experience usually dosnt warrant a complete overhaul of one's character.

That question remained in Harry's mind.

However, there was something else that had him somewhat unsettled. It was the reason why he felt the need to take their meeting into a closed room and not out in the open by the lake, unlike what he had told Daphne the day before.

That tingling at the back of his head; that occasional shiver that came once in a while with a random breath of air, and that sense of unease that crept up his spine occasionally when he strayed too far away from the stone paths that crossed the castle grounds.

He, of course, knew about that 'tingle' that he felt. Through the years of schooling at Hogwarts, some teachers had pointed out that powerful magic sources, such as enchanted objects or complex rune matrixes, would often 'tip-off' a wizard about their presence. In Hogwarts, there was no shortage of such items, and Harry didn't dismiss the possibility of runes being at work in plenty of places around the castle, so he had gotten used to the feeling early on, as many of his classmates did.

But since he had woken up that day, something had felt different. The usual buzzing that came from his wand and the marauder's map was there, like always, but it was sort of drowned out by another more… foreign 'buzz'.

And it had been especially noticeable when he had sneaked out in the early hours of the morning when he had tried to set up their meeting point by the lake.

And the closer he got to the trees, the more the 'tingle' fired up. And the longer he stayed out and near the grass and the water, the stronger it got. And in some part of his mind, Harry had figured out that it would be best to set up the meeting somewhere else.

But hours after that had happened, after their meeting and discussion, that foreign tingle still bothered him, even within the castle. And it was then, in the middle of the Gryffindor common room that he remembered the only other thing that gave off the same feeling.

It was the golden egg that he now carried within his hands, as he headed towards Hagrid's hut and the wilderness that surrounded it.

He reasoned that maybe it was a clue. After all, nobody had mentioned anything about a foreign 'buzz'. In fact, to everyone else, it seemed like a perfectly ordinary day.

And if he got that weird buzz near nature, and near the egg, then maybe they were connected somehow?

Setting aside the uneasiness that he was feeling, Harry, marched on through the stone path that leads to Hagrid's hut. He doubted that the gentle giant had any more advice to give him; But Harry figured that the immediate surroundings to the giant's abode were the safest ones to look for clues, after all, it was always somewhere near the hut where Hagrid imparted his "Care of magical creatures" lecture.

As Harry stepped out of the stone path and onto the grass, the weird tingle sprang up in the back of his mind, although it did not rush at him as it had in the morning.

Perhaps it had something to do with the egg that he was now carrying? After all, it too had begun vibrating slightly when he had taken it out of the castle.

Harry walked towards the shore of the lake, and from there he followed the rocky beach until the castle had been mostly obscured by the forest's trees.

There he began to look for clues; Maybe the tournament organizer's had left something hidden meant to help out with the test? Or maybe the egg had to be near a specific something.

He knew he was grasping at straws, but he figured that a long shot was better than nothing.

He began to ruffle trough plants and picking up 'suspicious stones'. When he found nothing after some twenty minutes of looking, he began to get unorthodox.

Throwing the egg at trees wasn't working, although the thing didn't even have a dent on it when he picked it up.

So, perhaps, he wasn't throwing it hard enough?

' _Unlikely_ ' he reasoned, but he figured that if the egg could be easily broken, they wouldn't put it in a dragon's nest to be retrieved by adrenaline-fueled teenagers.

So, Harry went up to one of the large boulders that dotted the shoreline of the lake, one he had passed in his trek to the forest. Holding the egg with one hand and glancing over at the boulder, Harry threw the thing as hard as he could towards the stone.

A light metallic ' _ting!'_ echoed back at Harry as soon as the egg made an impact. Unexpectedly, the egg bounced up into the air and landed on the lake's surface, sinking after a second or two.

Harry stared at the spot where the egg had disappeared in horror. Taking everything he had out of his pockets, and disrobing himself as quickly as he could, Harry jumped into the lake and waded towards where he had last seen the egg.

And while the 'Black Lake' had a reputation for being very murky under its waters; The water near the shores was a lot clearer than the one in the deeper areas of the lake, and so Harry was able to spot the egg with ease.

Although he was surprised to see it open, he didn't think much of it. By then, he was up to his chest in the water and knew he had to get out of there quickly, just in case he found himself face to face with some of the creatures that inhabited those waters.

As soon as he dove under the water he was stunned by the beauty of the song that came from the egg. Somewhat bewildered at actually having stumbled upon a clue just like that, Instead of picking it up, Harry drew his face near the bottom of the lake where the song became louder and more discernable.

Although, there was something weird about it. The song occasionally sounded 'scratchy' or perhaps it came out with what reminded Harry of static from the tele at the Dursley's house.

He could make out most of it, but the 'static' was messing too harshly with some parts, to be able to decipher the full message.

When his breath began to run out, another thought invaded Harry's mind in alarm.

His head shot and away from the submerged egg and began scanning his surroundings frantically.

There was nothing. He couldn't see very well but he was sure nothing was around him.

That was odd, _something_ should have shown up already, at least to check him out.

His lungs began to ache, and without looking away from the watery abyss, scooped up the egg and swam to shore.

Getting dry was an easy affair with magic, so not even a minute after exiting the lake, he was sitting at its shore contemplating what he had learned.

And while he was surprised that the weird tingle had something to do with the egg, it hadn't disappeared. The grass still felt odd, and the egg was still vibrating.

The clue that he'd been given was incomplete so maybe he hadn't done everything right. Maybe he hadn't known about 'something' that would help him figure out the egg because it wasn't imparted to younger years?

With a sigh, Harry let the egg rest by his side on the shore. He pursed his lips in wonder and his eyes began scanning the surface of the lake.

Occasionally, one would be able to stop one of the giant squid's long tentacles breach the water. But that time there was nothing. In fact, the surface of the lake was surprisingly still, not being moved even by the wind.

Harry frowned. Too much out of the ordinary was happening, and again he seemed to be at the centre of it.

Tournament? He got dragged into that; Impostor? He had found out before anyone else. Greengrass? Yup, also his fault.

And that weird, sudden buzz that no one else was commentating on.

Harry drew his knees to his chest as he contemplated the lake.

All of a sudden he was carrying that sensation that he had felt around Quirrel… and around the diary; the dementors too, and with the whole tournament thing.

Deep in his chest, he felt fear.

' _What is going on?'_

Three weeks had passed since they had officially begun looking out for clues. Daphne had attended both meetings so far, although she had been especially quiet, and had only shared pertinent information and left soon after.

The prospect of her act falling apart around those three wasn't a fun thought. They weren't her friends and had actually dragged into a situation that smelt like trouble from miles away.

Still, she kept her ears open and occasionally watched the fake Alastor in class, closely. There were some oddities that stood out, like how he seemed to talk to himself occasionally, or how she would sometimes catch him staring at Potter a little longer than any teacher should.

Maybe it was a coincidence that Potter's mood had soured in the past days too.

She had been watching him. Not in a stalk-like fashion, but whenever she was in the same room or they spotted each other in the hallway. She would pay special attention to him.

The bags under his eyes were becoming noticeable, to the point that the other two Gryffindors had commentated on it. He kept insisting that it all had to do with his research for the second task of the tournament.

And maybe it had something to do with it, but it wasn't all. She wasn't a lie detector by any means, unlike how some of her housemates liked to brag about being. Neither was she part of some ancient house that prided itself on its political manoeuvring, and abilities to read the opponent.

But hanging around Slytherins long enough, and occasionally hiding stuff from her mother made her somewhat aware of the art of lying, and that was precisely what Potter was doing.

She sighed while she ate her meal. A part of her hoped that being part of one of the golden trio's supposed adventures would let her into some insight about The Boy Who Lived and maybe even corroborate some of the stuff she had heard through the years.

But it seemed that Potter held his secrets very close to his chest, to the point that probably not even Granger or Weasley knew very much about what was going on with him.

It was the feminine voice beside her that distracted her from her musings.

"So… Who is it then?" she heard Tracy prod at her once again.

She rolled her eyes at her best friend, annoyed by the question.

"You can't lie to me Daph!" Tracy boasted between swigs ButterBeer.

Thankfully, their seats at The Three Broomsticks were secluded enough that their conversation kept some semblance of privacy. It was, as they called it, a girl's night out after all; and Tracy had been hounding her with the same subject since they left the castle.

Another roll of the eyes from Daphne headed in Tracy's way, followed by a low sigh.

"What in Merlin's beard gave you the impression that **I** have a crush?" Daphne said, letting the act drop for the day.

There was no point she reasoned. The hoard of excitable third years that had new permission to visit the village had already left and those who remained were minding their own business.

"For one? you've been staring at the wall for the past fifteen minutes, AAAAAND I've known you for the past ten years Daph, I know when someone has piqued your curiosity, you get all defensive and stalky."

Daphne looked up, affronted "I DO NOT get 'stalky'!"

Tracy merely rested her chin on her palm and smirked at Daphne

"The first year; if you will recall, you did EVERYTHING you could to get into Malfoy's good graces, hell, you spent most of the year sitting beside him in every class"

Tracy raised one finger in her free hand as she watched Daphne scowl at her.

"The second year!" she continued merrily "Who was the Slytherin who found Clearwater and Granger petrified in the library?"

Daphne sighed "Twas I the Slytherin who found them" She drawled jokingly at Tracy.

"And what were you doing at the time again?"

Daphne felt some heat reach her cheeks and answered "Because I… was following Granger to see what books she was using to study" She admitted.

Tracy smirked at Daphne's reddening face and continued her onslaught. "The third year, and you stalked two people; Granger again, because you couldn't figure out her weird schedule and-"

"It made NO sense!" Daphne interrupted in exasperation "She was with me in Runes, but I swear I saw her exiting divination all the time! Those classes take place at the same time!"

Tracy chuckled at her friend's expense. It was always nice to see her out of her role as Ice Queen. With another smirk at Daphne, she returned their conversation to the 'important' subject.

"I also seem to recall you had a weird fascination with Cedric Digory, didn't you?"

At that comment, Daphne started sputtering and denying with her head Vehemently.

"I have no idea what you are talking about!" she declared.

Tracy's smirk only widened "Oh really? IS that why Hanna Abbott was telling us that she had seen you talking to him after classes?"

"I was only asking him about runes that time" Daphne argued

"And what about the other twenty or so times then?"

Daphne couldn't hold the redness away from her cheeks as she glared a hole into Tracy's head. She looked away from Tracy with an indignant 'huff'

"Aaaand this year…" Tracy continued "You've been scurrying away occasionally, but no one has said anything, so maybe you are being careful then… " She mused out loud.

Daphne stared impassively at Tracy. If she had figured out that she was sneaking around with potter, Daphne would have heard about it sooner. It wasn't like she wanted to keep her association with Potter away from her best friend, but Potter had been very persuasive in his argument about nobody finding out about the whole impostor thing.

It was needless to endanger anyone else.

Unfortunately, the side effect of her keeping her mouth shut was that Tracy had been able to notice something going on. And Tracy being Tracy, that train of thought led directly to boys.

"So maybe its someone you are not _supposed_ to be seen with, so, a Gryffindor then" Tracey deduced out loud. Daphne grimaced as her friend began to 'connect the dots'.

While she was confident that Tracy wouldn't care about her associating with potter, her friend, regrettably, was awful at keeping secrets. Besides, there would be a constant barrage of annoying and nosey questions. Never mind the fact that they had no real story to cover up exactly why the unlikeliest team in Hogwarts had formed.

"Redheads aren't your thing" Tracy continued "Longbottom, as we've discussed is too childish… You aren't into girls, and we've already talked about most of of the men in there at some point…"

At that, Daphne rolled her eyes. Oh, had they talked about the guys in the school, it had gotten to the point that Tracy had, by name, asked her opinion on almost everyone. It was this weird crusade of Tracy's to ensure that Daphne actually ended up with someone before their time at Hogwarts was over.

Tracey continued, ignoring Daphne "Hmmm, although, I don't know of any Giffyndoors that you actually talk with unless its someone who just recently began talking to you…"

A few seconds passed in which Tracy seemed to be deep in thought, then as if a lightbulb had gone off in Tracy's head, her eyes widened the size of saucers, and she slowly turned her head towards Daphne, her expression one of total bemusement.

Before she could say anything a pale hand clamped firmly on top of Tracy's mouth shut her up. And then she was met with the piercing blue eyes of the Ice queen, staring directly at her from a few inches away from her own eyes.

"Yes, its Potter, and no, it's not what you think" The cool, steely voice from Daphne's alter ego hit her unexpectedly. Tracy swallowed although she did not break eye contact with her friend.

Clearly, whatever WAS going on, was a touchy subject.

Daphne removed her hand from over Tracy's mouth and relaxed back into her seat.

"Sooo, what **is** going on?" she asked, carefully.

Daphne sighed, a little twitch in her left eye revealed how she felt about the whole worst-case scenario thing actually coming to pass.

She thought for a minute before softly slamming her fist on the table. She looked up, directly into Tracy's eyes. "I can't tell you"

"What do you mean?" Tracy asked, an eyebrow curiously arching on her forehead.

Daphne gave a tiny, quick smirk, and shrugged nonchalantly. Unlike her best friend, Daphne could actually keep a secret.

"It's getting late! We should be heading back, shouldn't we?" Daphne said as she stood up from her chair, picked up her things and began heading towards the exit.

Tracy stared at her she walked away and groaned.

"Oh, crap, she's going to do the whole my lips are sealed thing isn't she?" Tracy said to herself before following after Daphne.

 **I kinda just split this chaper in half. I wanted to go on to the second task but that is nowhere near finished. I know, nothing too exciting happened, plot or relationship wise but we are going to get there, I promise! Also, I have actual homework to do now so my schedule is getting quite busy, ill figure something, but in the meantime I'll just have to apologyze and ask you to ignore the space between updates.**


	6. Chapter 6

**This one took a while eh? Sorry about that, but I wanted to start ramping up the tempo of the story. I just had to do it right. I think I did too, so I hope you all will enjoy this extra-long chapter…**

 **Oh did I mention It was a PAIN in the ass to wite? Because it was. I kinda put myself in a bit of a bind with how "slice of life-y" the story was up until now. So I hope that I got the transition to a more adventure/action/romance story right.**

 **At any rate, writing fanfiction is my "practice," but knowing that you guys have really enjoyed it so far makes me care for this story.**

 **So THANK YOU.**

Surrounded by nostalgic colours, she heard the long-forgotten words she ought to remember. Uttered with a fatherly drone at the edge of her focus; Her childlike attention span diverting her mind away from a crucial lecture and onto the soothing, dancing flames of the fire tucked away within the chimney of her father's study.

Parts of her mind desperately, knowingly, looked out for the sound advice given out by her father; like a bird caged within the realms of her past consciousness, while her younger self was lulled into sleep by the comforts of her home.

…

Wakefulness barged into her when annoyingly excited feet, hurriedly shuffled past the threshold of her room. Her door offered little protection against the bright-eyed mannerisms of her younger housemates.

A groan escaped due to the incessant coming and going of people beyond her door; then, another one, caused by the sudden disconnect from her subconscious. Like always, the mind kept its secrets with overzealous fervour, leaving Daphne with nothing except a vague idea of the contents of her dream.

A dream or a memory, Daphne couldn't tell. Twas too early in the morning to sit down and think about it. Enough of a challenge was it to will her body out of her bed as of yet. But as consciousness settled in, discomfort made her aware of the ridiculous position she had awoken in.

Facedown and arse up. Good thing she had her private room, otherwise the number of innuendos she would have been subjected to would have been unbearable.

She rolled out of bed unceremoniously, almost falling face-first onto the ground. She stood up, stretched and remained in the middle of the room for a good two minutes. She was groggier than usual; stiff joints and cobwebs in her brain, not unlike that time her eldest cousin had sneaked some of that drug that the muggles were so fascinated with into the Christmas party.

Her cousin… that was enough to sober her up in an instant.

Ancient and noble families never liked to admit that a squib had been born in their ranks. Hers was no exception. And while in life, her father had done all he could for Estoran Greengrass, her cousin, the boy had only managed to remain a Greengrass until two years after it became clear that he wouldn't be receiving a letter from Hogwarts.

He still occasionally sent her letters, her favourite cousin. Some times small trinkets, not unlike a pair of earrings or some other oddity. Some other times it was just a map detailing his current whereabouts; just in case.

She glanced at her desk, where she had kept and organised her correspondence during the year. There had been remarkably few letters from her cousin, although he had not neglected to send her something for her birthday. Just a pair of cheap, but beautiful, green earrings.

She grabbed them so that she could put them on later, just stopping for a minute to wonder why her mind was set on making her recall her family on such an obnoxious way.

Nonetheless, a glance at the clock on her wall spurred her to proceed with her morning routine. A week had passed since the last meeting with the Golden-Trio, but Potter had let them know about some sort of new developments regarding Moody.

So it was in and out of the shower for Daphne, sparing herself only a moment in the mirror before dressing up.

She half-stopped for a second to contemplate the somewhat newfound tightness of her brassier. A quick, cupping of her breasts confirmed that they were more of a handful than they had been at some point. She paid no mind to that as she finished dressing herself up for the day.

There was still something that felt odd about her room. Vivacious greens and silvers in the upholstery lining every conceivable corner of her dormitory; once they had carried a sense of familiarity and even homeliness. They used to be normal. Then, before that day of 'discovery'.

Rationality and intuition told her that danger lurked within the castle halls, forcing her to occasionally glance over her shoulder… once, twice, thrice. Despite that, passing through the common room, she almost felt at ease again; how bustling it was with normality. Horrible, incautious normality.

Nobody knew there was something wrong with one of the teachers. Once again, it posed a question. Would she rather not know?

A friendly greeting drew her attention away from her thoughts. It was Tracey, smiling at her while Theodore acknowledged Daphne with a nod, his arm leisurely hanging around Tracey's waist. Daphne returned the gesture, half-smiling just as she did when other people were around; the deafening sound of normality making it easier not to think. Another greeting came her way, an acquaintance's, and so Daphne greeted back without a smile. A first-year student hurriedly ran past her, startling her; she suppressed a laugh at the innocence driven antics.

Another glance at the clock, and she knew she had to hurry. A few extra steps took her out of the Slytherin Common-Room. And then she stopped. Her arms were filled with the absence of her books, or anything she would typically use to quell the anxious fretting that came with a free Sunday. The seriousness of the situation she was in slamming back at Daphne, erasing what normality had seeped back into her that morning.

She took a deep breath. One for herself alone. The kind of deep breaths one makes when one is about to commit to something meaningful. She began walking in the opposite direction of the main hall, purpose filling her steps. She too had noticed something worth mentioning to her allies in Gryffindor.

It wasn't a revelation of any sort, but it served to quell some doubts about the whole situation. She had had the time to do a lot of thinking. A lot of time to put things together in her head. The thing about being a silent observer, dedicating time and attention to the matter at hand, was that falling into her quiet and aloof persona had been more straightforward than it had in the past weeks. Even Tracey had stopped prodding her about the subject sometime after their meeting at the Three broomsticks. The fact that classes were in full swing again meant that spending some time alone was expected.

For that, she was grateful; some of the conclusions she came up with during that time, most of them regarding Potter, would be enough, she assumed, for even Malfoy to re-consider some of his assumptions about The Boy Who Lived.

Or at least that is how she felt.

And that was an entirely new issue.

There was something about scuttling around the halls of an ancient, magical castle in the early hours of the morning… And there was something about not wanting to be seen at it…

Giddiness was a familiar yet unexplored emotion to Daphne. All the while, pretending that everything was normal to the casual passerby was… fun.

Passages from her favourite books, similar in topic to the situation she was now in, sprung up in her mind and refused to stop. An agent for a greater cause, or and adventurer solving a mystery. When compared to the sense of normality and routine she had felt earlier that morning, she almost felt disgusted at herself. A typical, run of the mill day… Wasn't the magical world supposed to be exciting?

Such thoughts invaded her as she dove deeper into the hallways of the castle, nearly bringing a spring to her step.

Ridiculous as they may be, they accompanied her as she walked towards one of those parts of the castle that no one seemed bothered to use. And then it was just a matter of sneaking into the crevasses in the walls, following one of the paths that only Potter seemed to know about. And within a minute, she was walking outside of the castle, in the grounds.

Daphne sighed as the cold air of the morning washed over her. The hidden passageway she had just walked out of, blending right back into the walls of the castle.

She took a look around, letting a small smirk slip into her face. She was damn sure that walking out of the main exit to get out of the castle would be just as fast, but for some reason, she prefered the cobweb riddled passageways that Potter had discovered.

Ooo

As it turned out, not having to worry that much about the next tournament task, allowed Harry to pay more attention to the comings and goings of people around the castle, precisely the more exciting sort of people.

It was funny to realise that the Weasly twins were still using most of the hidden passageways in the castle, as they tended to leave trails of some of the components they used in their pranks. Running into them while picking a location for the next meeting had been just a coincidence.

It also turned out that most professors spent less time within the castle walls than he would have assumed.

Especially the fake Alastor Moody.

If there was a perk about having recurring nightmares, and therefore spending a lot of time at night exploring the castle, he noticed, that at some point during the early hours of the morning, the staff lowered their guard; assuming that most curfew breakers had already retired. Even if they weren't caught.

It seemed that the impostor made the same assumptions. And while following the impostor alone at night, wasn't the smartest of ideas, the few times that Harry had done it, had revealed some interesting things.

Taking advantage of those things, however, would require a lot of cunning.

Sleepless nights had another advantage, or more accurately, a silverling. With nothing else to do, spending the night at the library seemed as good an option as the next one, which was what Harry had done during his past outings.

The pages of a book, quietly rasping against the underside of his invisibility cloak was the only indication of his presence in one of the benches. After some experimentation, he had noticed that no light would illuminate his surroundings if it was cast from within his cloak. So he felt perfectly comfortable to spend the night reading.

At first, he had just been looking for a way to breath underwater, but as time went on, and as the books piled higher, he had begun to realise that plenty of the books in the library had some fantastic stuff written within them.

So there he sat, safely hidden by his cloak and jotting down some of the more exciting spells that he had stumbled upon during that night. A glance towards a nearby window told him that dawn had come and gone and that it was probably time to go practice the bubblehead charm he'd recently found out about. With a flick of his wand, he turned his things into pocketable sizes and then walked out of the library, cloak no longer covering him.

Unsurprisingly, some students were already roaming about, clearly intent on extruding all of the free time offered by a Sunday. Some of them still sent him contemptuous glances and some others yet commented about him in hushed whispers.

While challenging to ignore, he was more focused on reaching the black lake. The next stage of the tournament was drawing in fast, and he suspected that being able to breathe underwater was just the pre-requisite to the challenge; a way for the judges to determine if it would even be possible for him to win the second task.

As such, just like he had for two weeks, he walked away from the castle, heading towards the lake. In his journey to the lake, he stuck to the cobbled roads and stayed as far away from the grass as possible, since the sensation of uneasiness he felt nearby nature was still present and at the forefront of Harry's mind.

The long trek offered a brief period spent doing nothing but walking. And as such, some of his thoughts invaded him once again.

Things had gotten a little bit strange in recent days, ever since the investigation of the fake Moody had somewhat stalled out. While it was true that the impostor had taken a liking to wander around at night, they still hadn't found out anything too useful, much less had they gotten an idea about what to do once they found out what the fake moody was up to.

Because of that, Ron and Hermione had slowly drifted back into their regular routine, bussing themselves with school and chess-related matters. They still held meetings if Moody ever did something worthy of notice, but it was easy to realise that their mind was half-there.

Daphne, on the other hand, seemed to be the only one still engaged in the matter, and that was something that he wasn't quite sure what to think about. As much as he appreciated having another person within the group, he was uncomfortable with the prospect of dragging her into trouble, which's scope wasn't clear.

Not that it was apparent, but if whatever the fake moody was doing, was related to him or what made him famous in the first place, chances were that Daphne was unknowingly risking her life. Then again, it wasn't fair to keep dragging Hermione and Ron into it either.

There was also the matter of Sirus's sudden disappearance. When the impostor had been found out, Harry had gone to the Shrieking Shack; He and Sirus had agreed to meet after the ball. Instead of his godfather, he had found a letter. Within it, a hastily written scrawl in Sirius's handwriting read "I'll be back soon, pup."

Harry had thought it best to not try and contact his godfather for the time being.

The quiet sloshing of water making landfall broke him out of his musings.

It was a cold morning, and the skies were covered in grey clouds. With a sigh, Harry took off his coat and sweater, the more troublesome items to dry with a spell. His worn shoes and socks were left resting underneath a tree.

A shiver ran up his spine as soon as his feet touched the water, partly because of the cold, but mainly because being in the water felt plain wrong. Taking a second to adjust to the temperature, Harry readied his wand and cast the bubblehead charm on himself.

It was hard to tell if he'd gotten it right. Air being translucent, there was no way to see if the Charm had any faults. The only way to visibly see the effect of the Charm was to be underwater. That was something to keep in mind, as he was pretty sure he would not have time to doublecheck his wandwork right as the task was beginning.

So on the day of the second task, he had to get it right first try.

Shooting a glare of disdain towards the cold water, Harry breathed in deeply and submerged himself entirely. A second passed, and he resurfaced. The spell had worked, but Harry wasn't happy with it. A flick of his wand and he re-did the incantation, then, he submerged himself again.

Rinse-repeat.

Ooo

Potter wasn't necessarily the predictable sort of guy. Daphne had found out that much in the past few weeks. Some days he could be seen in the same seat, at the same bench of the library for hours. Some others he was a dark silhouette in the air, above the quidditch pitch; flying aimlessly for hours on end and some other days still, he could not be found at all.

If one were to look for him, not even breakfast was a guaranteed way to stumble upon him. But, for once, Daphne knew where to find him as he had told her during the previous meeting, that he would be practising a spell for the second task nearby the lake. All she had to do was ask. He was unpredictable in some ways, but not in a luny way.

It would make sense for him to focus his efforts on the task, given that it was only a couple of days away.

And that, in a way, bothered her.

In her way towards the black lake, she pondered about all the rumours that circulated about the raven-haired boy. Some were, surprisingly, not all that misguided, but plenty others were fabrications to the core, and those painted him as a rule-breaking rouge or as a loose cannon of sorts.

But her previous interactions with him told her that he was just someone that got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time or someone who was driven into some ridiculous situation by the consequences of someone else's actions. If what the golden trio told her was the truth.

And she was inclined to believe what she was told. Daphne wasn't dumb, and she was good at eavesdropping. What few details the Gryffindors let slip during their private conversations was enough for her to paint a clearer picture of Potter.

But an average person, under those circumstances, would be com-

 _Thud!_

She felt the air leave her lungs as she collided with the ground, so fast that she wasn't able to brace for it. So suddenly brought out from her musings, she felt disorientated and breathless. It took her a second to get her bearings.

She was alone. Accompanied by just a small boulder that stood conspicuously nearby her feet.

Embarrassment crept up on her, so much, that the stony expression that she was so good at was tinged pink. She'd been so focused on Potter that she hadn't even bothered to look where she was going.

She stood up in a huff and looked around fiercely, daring any casual passerby to laugh, her hand grasping her wand firmly. There was no one else to witness her shame.

It was hard to pretend that nothing had happened.

Her mind didn't wander any more for the rest of the trek to the Black Lake, focusing solely on finding Potter. The sounds of splashing and the occasional curse were dead giveaways of his location at any rate.

She discovered his things first. Some were neatly tucked away on top some tree roots, and some others were casually strewn about the place. At first glance, Potter was nowhere to be seen, yet Daphne noticed the occasional bout of bubbles that emerged from the surface of the black lake, followed by an underwater flurry of movement.

But the water was still, too still.

The ripples on the surface seemed slow and reluctant to spread. There were no fish swimming away from the submerged Boy Who Lived, or curious critters swimming about. She thought about it for a second, wondering if the unnatural quietness of the lake was the result of Potter's attempts at underwater breathing.

But then she noticed.

Despite it being early in the morning, no birds were singing, and no bone-chilling echoes and moans were coming from the depths of the forbidden forest.

Memories flashed before her eyes. There had been no second-year students complaining about screaming mandrakes, and there had been no news of pixies rampaging across a classroom. Nobody had injured themselves during Hagrid's class.

Perplexed, she took a look around her.

All she found were empty cobwebs in the tree branches. No laborious ants were walking underneath her feet nor anything else for that matter.

The castle grounds suddenly felt eerily empty; the distant chatter of some of the students was not enough to deafen the unnatural silence that permeated her surroundings.

She sat down beside Potter's apparel, crosslegged and contemplative. She was not a Druid by any stretch of the imagination, but she could feel that something was out of place. She continued watching the lake, and despite Potter's underwater shenanigans, the surface remained mostly still.

Perplexed and slightly uneasy, she remained sitting there, waiting for Potter to re-surface. As she waited, the sky brightened and the chill of the morning was driven away by sunlight. Daphne wasn't intent on keeping track of the time that day, but as her butt became numb from sitting too long on top of tree roots, impatience crept up on her. With a sigh, she grabbed a small rock that was sitting nearby, one only larger than a pebble, and tossed it in the lake nearby the underwater Potter, hoping that the splash would attract the teenager's attention.

Once again, there were too few ripples on the surface.

A moment passed, and Potter emerged, not taking any desperate gasp of air and looking curiously around.

"The bubblehead charm?" Daphne asked out loud, setting her previous train of thought aside and focusing on the boy who lived, who had been looking worse for wear for some time.

Potter turned around, surprised at the sudden question.

"Oh!" He said with a chirp as he dispelled the Charm away from his face "Yea, how did you know?"

"You told me" Daphne deadpanned.

"Oh that's right," Potter said while wading out from the lake.

She noticed that while Potter had not ventured into the lake in an "indecent" state, his wet shirt and trousers clung tightly onto him, leaving little to the imagination. She turned her head away to spare him his blushes, nevermind that her eyes managed to linger on him a second longer than was strictly necessary. As Daphne looked away, the tale-tell the sound of a wand whisking through the air far faster than it needed to reached her ears. She smiled, knowing that Potter wasn't looking.

"Shit!" She heard Potter hiss under his breath

"Did you get over-enthusiastic when drying yourself Potter?" She prodded knowingly.

"Yea" He grunted while sitting beside her, his robe draped over him for warmth "Peeled away a good chunk of skin too" he added.

"Nervous about the tournament?"

"Nah, just eager to get out of the water."

Daphne nodded absentmindedly

"So," Potter began, "Yesterday you mentioned you had something to tell me about moody?"

Daphne nodded again, looking over her shoulder out of reflex.

"Why not wait for Ron or Hermione?" He asked, curiosity peeking through his glasses.

Daphne stayed silent and looked over her shoulder again, scanning her surroundings with more attention than before. Potter followed the direction of her gaze with his eyes, waiting for her to answer.

"Have you noticed" She began, once she stopped surveying the area. "That Moody is stalking you? In particular?"

Potter raised a curious eyebrow "Can't say I have" he admitted.

Daphne nodded "He's always there. If Malfoy decides to pick on you? He intervenes. If you get in trouble with snape? He comes to your rescue" She paused "I've seen him a few times outside the library when you are there, waiting. Sometimes he sticks around until you leave, some other times he goes in, grabs a book and sits… but his eye is always set on you; he never does it when there are too many people around."

"Do you think he's onto us?" He interrupted her, worriedly.

She denied with her head "He was doing it when you asked me for the book about dragons; you know? Before we found out about him being an impostor?"

Potter frowned and shifted his posture so that he could look at her better.

"How did you notice?"

She picked up on his tone. He didn't doubt her out of mistrust.

"I tried to remember everything I had seen him do, Potter. And I paid attention to him like we were supposed to?" She turned her head to look at him directly. "Because he's not the actual Alastor Moody!? Because we have no idea what his or her intentions are!?" Her tone was severe.

A sigh escaped her, and Potter muttered a pacifying "Sorry."

A second passed, and she dismissed his apology, having regained her composure with practised ease.

"At first…" She continued "I thought this whole thing had something to do with someone else. There are several people within this school with ties to functionaries or famous wizards. Several important families have heirs studying here too, like my own" She explained, feeling a shiver at the prospect of her or her sister being a target for the impostor.

"But!" She said before Potter could say anything "He is focused on you, Potter."

"Harry" he clarified suddenly.

"What?"

He smiled at her. "I think we are past the point of us using last names arent we Daphne?"

She stared at him owlishly, momentarily stunned. "At any rate, H-harry, his objective seems to be you".

Harry's smile faded away after she clarified the last bit. He looked up at the sky and sighed, tiredly.

It didn't take much to notice the increasingly weary appearance of The Boy Who Lived. Since Daphne had started her "association" with him, the bags under his eyes had become a permanent feature of his face; and his general appearance had steadily gone from shabby to dishevelled.

But it was when Harry had looked up at the sky just then, that the magnitude of his weariness became painfully evident to her.

He looked older, much older. It wasn't in his looks either, not really. None of her classmates ever looked like him, not even at their worst.

She wasn't sure how to describe it either.

Sometimes, when he thought nobody was looking, Professor Snape looked like that. During their previous years; whenever someone got petrified or had an unpleasant run-in with the Ministry appointed Dementors, Dumbledoor looked like that. Daphne's mother had looked like that for weeks after she was widowed.

For Harry to look like that at age fourteen was troubling, and it brought credence to the stories that the golden trio had partially shared with her.

"I should have guessed," Harry said to no one in particular, his voice vacant of emotion.

"Why? Do you think its because of… well, why they write books about you?" She ventured, measuring her words as best as she could.

Silence greeted her, and she thought she might have upset him. Yet he did not look her way; nor was he doing anything else other than staring at some faraway point. He breathed in deeply then shrugged.

"Most likely," he said with a fake smile directed at her. "I mean" he continued "When has it not been about it?"

She stared at him, wondering what to say next.

"So" she began, tentatively "Every time you've ended up at the mercy of Madame Pomfrey…"

"Almost" he answered, a tiny smirk protruding from his lips

"And those times you suddenly managed to amass an astounding amount of points for Gryffindor…"

He shrugged and directed a silent smile at her.

She looked at him and his smile. To her, his silence was an answer by itself; one that also told her that there was no need to clarify everything else.

A silence grew between them. Not one of discomfort but one born out of contemplation; both focusing on the thoughts that their previous conversation had evoked.

"I should get back to practising," Harry said suddenly as if he had sensed her need for some time to think.

She looked at him with her eyes only and allowed the smirk she reserved for her friends to surface.

"See you later then?" She asked as she stood up, wiping dried leaves off her attire while she did so.

"Sure!" He smiled at her and waved her good-bye as she walked away.

Ooo

Harry had tried hard to get back to practice. He really had. But his mind was full of more urgent things to worry about than a spell that he had almost mastered. And it was the prospect of another confrontation with Voldemort which kept him from the water.

He'd assumed that his second year wouldn't be the last time he'd come across the Dark Lord, but had half expected Voldemort to stop trying while Harry was still studying at Hogwarts. Without being under the direct supervision of Albus Dumbledore, Harry would be at his most vulnerable. So what if he had graduated from Hogwarts? Voldemort had been no match for some of the most competent Aurors at the time. Or so, Harry had been told.

Harry sighed and allowed the sun to warm his skin through the tree canopy; a small comfort. After Daphne had left, an unwavering feeling of uneasiness had settled in his stomach.

He really should have seen it coming. The set-up was too perfect if he was honest.

A dangerous tournament in which he had been unwillingly entered, nevermind the precautions set up by the authorities. At the same time, plenty of unknown wizards roamed the castle grounds mostly unsupervised… It was just too perfect.

Best case scenario? Paranoia. But when his friends were involved, he couldn't assume that coincidences were taking place one after another

What to do next? He pondered.

Then again, there was only one rational solution. If they couldn't convincingly oust the impostor, without needlessly endangering themselves, then the only course of action left was to prepare for the oncoming storm.

Ooo

Daphne should have guessed that becoming "friends" with Harry would have been troublesome, to say the least. It only took one day for her to become worried about the raven-haired boy. After their talk the previous day, Harry became hyperactive and was seen running around the entirety of the castle through most of the day.

She had to wonder what Harry was up to. She hadn't expected that reaction when she told him about the impostor's focus on him.

The few times he had run past her on her way to her next class, he would be carrying a variety of things along with him; sometimes books and sometimes magical equipment pertaining to the different courses imparted at Hogwarts.

What told her that the whole ordeal had little to do regarding the tournament happened during her last class for the day.

 _Ancient Runes was by far one of her favourite subjects. So much so, that she intentionally arranged her schedule to have it as her last class of the day. She had to pull some strings with her Head of House to arrange that, but she managed. It was something to look forwards to after the more dreary classes, and not having to rush anywhere when the lecture was over was ideal to have any leftover questions answered, in detail._

 _She expected the course to be a nice distraction from the admittedly intriguing shenanigans that Harry had been doing all day._

 _She was proven wrong when a sweaty looking Harry almost burst through the door mid-lecture. He didn't pay attention to any of the startled stares directed his way by her classmates and instead headed directly towards professor Babbling._

 _"May I speak with you for a moment, professor?" He asked the startled teacher. "It is important" he added as he handed the professor an official-looking letter_.

 _Daphne glanced at Hermione. The witch had begun sitting nearby ever since they had become acquainted._

 _Hermione met her inquisitive gaze with one of her own._

 _"I see..." They heard professor Babbling mutter._

 _"Come with me, Potter," the teacher said as she headed towards the office annexed to the classroom._

 _As soon as they disappeared behind the door of the office, Hermione scooted towards daphne._

 _"Do you know anything about this?" Hermione whispered into Daphne's ear. As perplexed as she was, Daphne was not intent on breaking character in front of a classroom full of gossiping students. She gave Hermione a pointed look while she hastily scribbled a "No" on one of the corners of the piece of parchment she was using to take notes._

 _Hermione gave her a subtle nod and scooted back towards her desk. Daphne set her gaze on the office door, waiting for Harry to come back out it, hoping for her class to continue as intended._

 _To the surprise of everyone in the room, Harry came out of the office carrying a full set of the most excellent engraving equipment that the school made available to the teachers. Professor Babbling came out next and headed towards the bookshelves that littered the classroom, picked out several books, shrunk them_ and levitated them into Harry's pocket.

 _Harry promptly thanked the teacher and practically ran out of the room._

 _Murmurs erupted amidst the students only to be quieted down with a stern "Tournament business" from professor Babbling._

When the lecture ended, Hermione sprinted out of the classroom, presumably to find out what Harry was up to. Daphne didn't act upon her curiosity, figuring that she would find out eventually. As Daphne usually did, she stayed behind and clarified her doubts with the teacher, refraining herself from bringing up Harry's mid-lecture interruption. When she was done, she leisurely strode out from the classroom, allowing herself to relax since her classmates had already left.

Inevitably, however, her mind drifted back to Harry's antics during that day, pondering again if her conversation with him could have affected him that much.

She bit her lip in concentration. If she had noticed, she would have stopped. It was a trait she had acquired from her mother and one of the harder ones to repress.

A hand suddenly rested on her shoulder, making her jump out of her skin. Faster than she realised she was able to, she drew her wand and jammed it into her aggressor's neck. Her mind didn't immediately process who she was threatening with bodily harm.

The offending hand retreated from her shoulder and went up into a pacifying gesture. Only then did she realise that it was Harry who she had almost blasted across the hallway.

"Damn you, Potter" she growled soon afterwards.

"Didn't mean to startle you" He answered once her wand was stowed away.

"What do you want, anyway? You've been acting strange all day Harry" She asked, trying to suppress the irritation caused by the scare he had given her.

He didn't answer and instead started rummaging through his pockets. Shortly afterwards, he procured a handkerchief and offered it to Daphne.

She raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him.

"Your lip," he said, "It's bleeding" he clarified.

Startled, she felt the pain on her lower lip for the first time and caught a blood droplet with her finger before it could stain her blouse. Daphne took the handkerchief from Harry and put it on her wound.

"It's your fault anyway, but thanks," she answered, a little miffed at his attentiveness. "Although you haven't answered my question."

His demeanour changed; apologetic was replaced by severity.

"Is Hermione still around here?"

She denied with her head "She's been gone for some time."

"Right, I'll talk to her later," He said. Harry then looked at Daphne, his eyes becoming piercing as he did so; so much that his eyes almost seemed to glow.

Taken aback by his shift in demeanour, Daphne remained quiet.

A sigh escaped him, and she saw the nervousness behind the stern facade.

"Can you keep a secret?"

Ooo

Harry knew he was taking a considerable risk by showing her; but what choice did he have? She was a friend and had become an asset in the current situation. He reasoned that the more she knew, the safer she was.

Still, the whole ordeal that had taken place in that particular place of the castle was known by a few choice people.

Yet he had a plan. Half baked as it was, he knew that the only way he was going to come out on top of whatever was going on was if he adequately prepared. For that, he needed Daphne's help. And for that, he needed her trust.

Extending an olive branch seemed like the only way to go.

That is not to say that his current situation didn't have its silver linings. They were not breaking curfew yet, but where they were going needed a touch of discretion.

He did relish the brief flash of amazement the had passed through Daphne's face when he had revealed his invisibility cloak to her. So what if there were other ways to get to their destination? No one who liked women would blame him for hiding them both under a cloak that was a little bit too small for two people, right?

And showing her one of the aces that he kept under his proverbial sleeve was another way to build trust.

"The girl's bathroom? Seriously Harry?" He heard Daphne mumble. He gave her a toothy smile.

He led her, still under the cloak, towards the sink that he knew too well, and before she could say anything, he let his magic seep into his voice. He felt Daphne shiver at the serpentine language. But as soon as the floor began moving and as the rock ground against itself, he heard a tiny gasp escape her, and smiled.

Surveying his surroundings and making sure that nobody had been drawn to the bathroom by the noise, Harry removed the cloak from them with a flourish.

Daphne carefully approached the border of the hole that opened in the middle of the bathroom, mouth agape.

"We should go before somebody notices us," he said to her.

She turned around to look at him, perplexed. "Go?"

Not thinking twice, Harry jumped into the hole as he had done so several times already during the day.

As he slid down the grimy tunnel, she heard Daphne call after him in alarm.

Once he landed, he took a look at the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets. He had already done some "spring cleaning" which had consisted mostly on hiding skeletons and clearing rubble.

He approached the end of the slide and loudly proclaimed "Perfectly safe, I assure you" into the tunnel.

He heard a faint "What!?" echo from the surface. He waited in place, slightly worried that Daphne might not follow him. However, a few moments later, he smiled when he heard the panicked screams of Daphne sliding down the tunnel. He readied his wand, and as soon as the first glimpse of blond hair appeared from the darkness, he chanted: "Whingardium Leviosa!"

He cast the spell with all his might and struggled to oppose the momentum carried by Daphne, yet, he managed to prevent a possibly painful landing for her.

The girl opened her eyes to find herself floating and staring at a smiling Harry.

He set her down gently, and before she could start cursing him out, he grandly said to her "Welcome to the Chamber of Secrets!"

That shut her up promptly as her eyes widened at the implication.

He gave her a second while she looked around. He expected that reaction, after all. Once the skeletons had been removed and the dust had been cleaned, the entrance alone was quite impressive. Not that he had been to many ruins or hidden chambers in his lifetime, but one needn't be an expert to a appreciate the place.

"Is this... truly?" She asked as her eyes surveyed her surroundings.

"Mhm," He murmured at her while he discreetly hid a rib leftover from his cleaning spree.

"Ladies, first!" Harry said, pointing her towards the entrance.

Ooo

Daphne began walking towards the direction indicated by Harry. She made sure to glance back over her shoulder every few meters to make sure he was following her. Of course, she'd heard the legends of the place, as had everyone else; she'd also heard the rumours that involved her newest friend and the hidden chamber, both as an outsider and from the source. Yet being there made the whole affair with Harry intimidatingly real. Just seeing the nearing entrance of Salazar Slytherin's secret lair gave uncanny credence to the stories that the golden trio shared with her. That was frightening by itself.

When the door decorated by snakes was at an arms reach, Dpahen saw Harry step beside her.

Once again he spoke in the language of the snakes, sending a shiver down her spine. Most students had chosen to forget that The Boy Who Lived was a natural at one of the telltale magical arts that would brand anybody as a dark wizard in a second.

Before she could think about it, the door before her opened with a start. Yet she did not flinch, as her mind was once again running rampant with curiosity. Were she not in the "know", nothing could have prepared her for what she saw beyond the door.

The serpentine corpse, lying almost in the middle of the room, was hard to miss. However, she was not assaulted by the putrid smell she had expected.

As she passed the threshold of the large chamber, she took more than a couple of exploratory whiffs. When once again, no smells made their way to her nose, she couldn't help but send Harry an inquiring gaze.

The boy merely shrugged "Don't ask me," he said, "I did come here prepared to deal with that. But there was no need from the beginning."

He then looked at Daphne, somewhat startled " You don't seem... well, surprised."

"A basilisk" she answered the unasked question.

When he raised an eyebrow at her, she let out an almost imperceivable smirk. "You and your friends talk too much."

He seemed stunned for a second; "Fair enough," he said after a moment.

The next thing that caught her eyes was the apparent damage to the place. While the majority of the area had eroded naturally over many centuries, a lot of the damage was evidently fresh... a lot fresher.

"So it's true then," She said at Harry who had walked ahead of her.

"What?" Harry answered from afar, his voice echoing across the chamber.

"That you fought 'a beast' in your second year," she said while she caught up to him"

"Mhm," he murmured once Daphne had reached him.

They stopped in front of the corpse; she noticed Harry getting lost in thought at the sight of the beast.

He was rubbing his right arm absentmindedly.

"Not that I'm not impressed," She said to break him out of his trance. Harry looked at her expectantly; "But what does this have anything to do with what you were doing today?"

His eyes widened "Right! Come with me!" he said, heading to the opposite end of the chamber.

She followed, and as she did so, Daphne admired the details of the Chamber of Secrets. What used to be stairways carved into the stone had eroded to accommodate the shape from the beast that used to roam the ancient chamber.

Another look around and even more evidence of the Basilisk's imprisonment became more and more evident.

Harry led her into a set of tunnels carved into the walls of the chamber; where tremendous sights presented themselves for her. Old shed skins, scales and a surprising amount of animal carcasses; livestock, possibly kept to produce enough food for the growing beast. The deeper they went into the lair, the more equipment they came by, not too dissimilar to the one used by dragon handlers.

It would not have been evident to most, but what she knew from her father's profession told her that raising the Basilisk had been nothing but a labour of love.

Awestruck, Daphne missed the point in where they entered a torch-lit room, it purposes designed for humans and not legendary beasts.

There she saw a familiar pile of instruments, the ones she had seen Harry carry around during the day. Books about the courses imparted at Hogwarts were neatly stacked in a corner, and she noticed that several were years more advanced than the ones they were using currently.

She began to understand what the boy who lived was up to.

"Planning to take on the mantle of the heir of Slytherin, Harry?" Daphne asked jokingly.

She earned a small chuckle from Harry.

"Not quite," he answered, "I just thought that this place was ideal for us to prepare."

"Prepare?" she squinted her eyes, suspiciously looking at Potter "Expecting a fight?

Harry looked at her, the smile brought on by her joke disappearing from his face. Looking downcast, he shrugged. "I don't know" he admitted "But the last time someone untrustworthy was roaming the castle as he pleased, Hermione, Ron and I barely made it out alive... That was in our first year."

He breathed in profoundly "Quirrel, and I guess Voldemort by extension, were underestimating us that time; the second year, a memory of Voldemort almost killed Ron's sister and me, nevermind the students that could have been killed by the Basilisk." Harry stood and began pacing around the room. "Last year, dementors really seemed to want to keep my soul for themselves, and the only way I survived that was because I went to up to professor lupin and asked him to teach me to defend myself from them" he explained agitatedly.

Daphne listened quietly as she did her best to absorb the information that was being given to her

"And now, _Dragons?_ _Breathing underwater to rescue what I cherish the most_? While _someone_ is chugging polyjuice potion like it was water?" Harry shook his head. "The tournament was suspended in the past precisely because too many people died in it, and I looked into it you know? Not all the times it was the competitors who died in it."

Harry stared at her intently, his dishevelled appearance giving his rant an extra touch of severity.

"So if someone is going to die, it's not going to be Hermione or Ron, or you," He told her.

His last statement caught Daphne by surprise. Surprise at being included in his list, but also at the mental state in which Harry was in.

"When was the last time you got a decent nights sleep, Harry?" she asked him.

He stopped pacing around and deflated before her eyes, the steam that had fueled his rant having left his body.

"Last week... maybe," Harry told her as he sat down on the floor, catching his breath.

As she processed the information she was just given, the exit of the room became more and more enticing. The whole situation was sketchy and dangerous, not necessarily on account of Harry. But the more truth she found in his claims and in the rumours spread about him, the more frightening the situation was becoming.

She glanced at the exit, and then at Harry, weighing her options.

Her lips became a thin line in her pensiveness. A true Slytherin would not get involved. A true Slytherin would watch as the situation developed and turn it to their advantage.

And that is what she would do. It would spare her dangerous troubles, and it would save her potential problems with her mother.

It was the sensible thing to do. Based on what Potter told her, Daphne understood that the situation went beyond Hogwarts.

She turned around, Intent on leaving the room. As she did so, she felt Potter's eyes dig at the back of her head.

Her first step towards the exit was easy. It was the sensible thing to do.

Her second step was more reticent. Guilt at leaving a new friend behind.

He thrid step was hesitant. Fear, at not being in the "know" anymore.

Her fourth step brought her to a stop. _"An agent of a greater cause, or an adventurer solving a mystery."_

Daphne turned her head slowly to meet his gaze. " _Wasnt magic supposed to be exciting?"_

The Boy Who Lived looked tiered, exhausted in reality. "Apparently, The Boy Who Survived, really", she muttered for herself alone.

She took a deep breath while looking directly at Harry, the kind of deep breaths one makes when one is about to commit to something meaningful.

She extended her hand and closed the door to the room; that's how close she'd been to leave. A few flicks from her wand and privacy charms were set up to the best of her ability.

She turned around completely to face Harry.

"What do you need me to do?" Daphne asked the boy.

The radiant smile he gave her was one that she would remember for a long time.

Ooo

If anything, the days leading up to the second task of the tournament had gotten stranger.

Daphne and Harry's friends were the only ones who knew that The Boy who Lived had mastered the bubblehead charm. For Nevil Longbottom to approach Harry about Gillyweed, a mere day after Harry had lied to the impostor about not having solved the issue of underwater breathing, raised more than a few eyebrows within their group.

Another thing that was worrying Daphne was that the spectator stands for the second task were set up directly in the middle of the lake. It wasn't everyone, but more than one student was commenting on how uneasy the stillness of the lake made them feel. And although he'd not mentioned it with words, in the days leading up to the second task, Harry too had made evident his dislike for the lake's water.

She twitched in her seat, an unknown type of anxiety had settled within her, making keeping up the appearance of the Ice Queen extremely uncomfortable.

As Daphne waited for the event to start, she tried to focus on the books she had brought along. Damn that Potter, it was his fault that she'd fallen behind with her classes.

She couldn't even write correctly. Dreamless sleep potions were not easy to make, and her fingers had become sore after brewing plenty for the tormented teenager, at her own insistence no less.

Time went on, and she had managed to catch a glimpse of the small exchange between Harry and Nevil.

In the last meeting, they had agreed that having redundancy in underwater breathing methods during such an event was an advantage they could not discard.

"Studying? Now? Really Daph?" She heard Tracey call out to her.

Daphne hesitated to turn and look at her best friend, somehow sure that she was behaving quite more transparently than she'd like to.

She opted to force a smile at Tracey while trying to find Ronald Weasley and Hermione; the two had been mysteriously absent all-day, something that was beginning to get on her nerves.

There was too much going on for her to sit still, so she opted to stand up from her seat and go have a talk with Harry, to find out how he was doing himself.

She left without a word, ignoring the surprised expression on Tracey's face.

Unsurprisingly, Daphne found Harry pacing around behind the starting stage of the competition, a worried expression on his face.

"You have everything you need Harry?" She said, startling him for a second.

When he recognized her, he half-smiled. "I think so" he answered.

To his credit, he was looking somewhat better than he had back in The Chamber.

A few nights of good sleep would do that to a person, nevermind the pain on her fingers.

"Good!" she exclaimed, nervously breaking out of character. She stared at Harry, wide-eyed until she was sure he noticed.

Harry frowned unsure on how to react when he heard a voice boom behind him.

"What's this! A Slytherin cheering for our Griffindor champion? What Gives miss Greengrass?"

"No such a thing professor," she said "I was just taking a long way around from the toilets, sir."

"Of course; what about you, Harry? Are you ready for the second task? I'm confident you already figured out the issue we discussed the previous day?"

Harry's expression was a mix of a smile and uneasiness.

"Yes Professor Moody, Its all sorted out!"

"Good!" The fake moody boomed at Harry. "Make us proud out there, son!" he said, laying his hand on top of Harry's shoulder.

"Will do, Professor" Harry answered, hiding a grimace.

Daphne and Harry shared a conspiratory look between them; it was not safe to be talking when the impostor was around.

Wordlessly, each went their separate ways.

Barty Crouch Junior rolled the magical eye back to the front of his face once he's seen them part ways through the stand walls.

He growled to himself. Those kids were up to something, he was sure of it. It was no coincidence that they tended to disappear when they got together. More worrisome was the matter that they'd become harder to find as of late. Alastor's eye was not as useful in a castle filled with places that did not want to be discovered.

"What's the matter Alastor?" He heard Dumbledore's voice ask him.

"Nothing Albus!" He said jovially "In my line of work, one grows to dislike crowds!" He replied with practised ease.

"Of course! Was that Harry I saw you talking to earlier?" The headmaster inquired.

The disguised Moody turned to look at the meddling Hogwarts headmaster with veiled disgust.

"Yes! I do have a horse in this race, Albus!" He explained, cringing at his own act.

"As I do old friend," the headmaster said as he got ready to begin the event.

Nervousness didn't begin to cover what Harry was feeling. It didn't help that the impostor was clearly on the lookout for him.

There was still no sign of Hermione or Ron, and the event was about to begin.

The prospect of spending an hour, possibly more inside the water did not sit well with him either.

All in all, he did not like his situation at all.

However, there was a small comfort at seeing his competition fret in anxiety too.

Viktor Krum was the best at bravado, no doubt about that. Cedric looked skittish but determined, despite his anxious pacing on the spot.

Fleur, on the other end, stood stock still, eyeing the water with suspicion, sweat was building up on the witches' forehead.

He understood why. The fact that Veela were at their weakest in water wasn't that well known but after some days of serious preparation spearheaded by a group of people looking out for him, had brought to light that detail.

Despite her assumptions about him, he bore her no ill will and could empathize somewhat with the whole "drew the short stick" scenario.

Harry's attention was then drawn towards the booming voice of the headmaster. The old wizard had begun talking a while ago, but what caught Harry's attention was the headmaster's explanation of what precisely had been taken from him.

Frantically, he looked for daphne in the crowd seated by the stalls. When he found her, she looked back at him, wide-eyed. Indeed, neither Ron or Hermione was present.

Before he could focus on the task ahead, however, the roaring boom of the cannon announcing the beginning on the challenge, echoed across the lake.

Without thinking, Harry drew out his wand and cast the bubblehead charm on himself.

He entered the water along with the other champions. He'd never swam in waters that felt as unpleasant as the water of the black lake. The shock of the cold was instant, but more harrowing was the sensation that had been haunting him around nature.

It took him longer than he anticipated to adjust; when he managed to get his bearings, as he expected, Cedric and Krum were already ahead of him, speeding away into the murky darkness of the lake. What he did not expect, however, was to find fleur still near him, seemingly struggling more than he did. He'd expected her to be at a disadvantage due to her heritage, but he hadn't anticipated that the water would have the french champion thrashing around, seemingly in pain.

Moreover, the overall ambience of the lake felt wrong. While the two other champions had sped away in competitiveness, they had neglected to look at their surroundings.

Less fish than expected were swimming in the distance, and the vegetation that surrounds them seemed worse for wear.

Motion going past him drew his attention at the french witch; apparently, she had gotten over whatever had troubled her and was following the wake of the other champions.

Harry decided to do the same once she looked healthy enough.

The riddle from the golden egg had made it clear that the participants would be dealing with merpeople, so going anywhere else than the mervillage in the middle of the lake was a waste of time. Despite that, Harry was well aware of the dangers that lurked within the lake's waters. Swimming above the vegetation was a must if he hoped to avoid the Grindylows that prowled amidst the plants; And, while they had been told that the merevillage was at a safe distance from the giant squid's hunting grounds, Harry made sure to keep an eye out for giant shadows in the distance.

As he swam, an untold story began to appear before Harry's eyes. Ruins of unknown design began to litter the lake bottom. In the distance, he saw Fleur explore a crumbled tower belonging to the ruins, and he thought he saw Cedric further into the ruin field, exploring another structure.

It occurred to Harry that he didn't know the exact location of the mervillage. While the competition began nearby the centre of the lake, there was still a considerable amount of water to explore.

Yet, a faint sound in the distance reached Harry's ears; it was not too dissimilar from the song that had been recorded within the golden egg. It was coming in the direction of a large field of ruins underneath his feet.

Suspended in the water, he wondered why the other champions hadn't gone in that direction.

Yet, he was left with no other option but to follow his ears.

Ooo

As far as spectator events went, the second challenge was horrible. Most of the attendees had begun chatting amidst themselves a minute or so after the champions had become submerged.

Daphne had refrained from partaking in the ramblings of her housemates, pretending to be focused in her books instead. In reality, her eyes, casually, often wandered and landed on the impostor, who was sitting besides Dumbledore in the stands reserved to the teachers.

In her mind, whoever was disguised as Alastor Moody, seemed awfully pleased with himself.

A shudder through the stands drew her attention away from him. For a second, the crowd became silent, wondering perhaps if the spectator stands were about to crumble under their own weight.

Instead, they began to move as if they were ships moving with the wind. An announcement from Dumbledore came, explaining that they were just being repositioned towards the final location of the task.

Chatter resumed amidst the students; When Daphne's eyes were about to fall on the impostor again, a soft tap on her shoulder prodded her to look the other way.

It was Tracey, who was looking at her with inquisitive brown eyes.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on with you?" Tracey asked, her tone devoid of gossiping intrigue.

Daphne sighed and wondered what to tell her best friend; It was true that she had been somewhat avoiding Tracey. She wasn't unhappy with Tracy at all. But Daphne doubted that she would be a pleasant conversation with all her worries swirling around in her head.

As the makeshift barges continued their way across the lake, she turned towards her friend, half smiled and shrugged; saddened at the frown that appeared on Tracey's face.

If she were honest, Daphne would admit to being able to keep the impostor's existence a secret. But the whole thing with Harry might have been impossible to safeguard within her chest.

The days before the competition had been exciting ones, and were she allowed to, Daphne would have dragged Tracey to the Chamber of secrets in a whim. She would have told her everything that she had found out about The Boy Who Lived and would probably have dedicated an entire evening at correcting every rumour that Tracey had heard about Harry.

No. It was best that she kept her mouth shut for the time being

Ooo

Harry was painfully aware of his heart beating in his chest. The situation he was in was terrifying. Harry wasn't even aware of what was happening, for the most part, it was his first moment of respite since the spells started whizzing across the water.

He glanced at Fleur, who like him, was hiding behind a boulder at the bottom of the lake, wand drawn and breathing heavily into the bubblehead charm.

She met his gaze and nodded.

Harry raised three fingers and began counting down.

When he reached zero, both Fleur and himself swam away from their respective covers and began casting spells at the swarm of Gryndillows that threatened to take Cedric Diggory to an early grave.

Between them, they managed to strike several of the frenzied beasts, drawing their attention.

The frenzied creatures darted towards them, relinquishing their hold on the unresponsive Hufflepuf champion.

Spell after spell sped towards the charging animals, the water making it hard to aim and adapt to their movements.

Fleur was doing better than Harry in that regard, showing that years of experience counted as much as knowledge.

Panic began to take hold of him as the animals drew closer. One of them managed to grab the arm which Harry was using to protect the bubble of air stuck to his face.

The suction cups of the animal dug deep and hard onto Harry's skin, managing to draw blood before Harry was able to finally blast the creature with a spell.

THEN, there was an explosion behind him, and a cloud of blood and limbs engulfed him. When it cleared, Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Fleur had managed to incapacitate the Gryndilows that had tried to charge him while he was dealing with the one stuck to his arm.

He gave the french witch a nod of gratitude, one that she reciprocated. However, she immediately darted away from Harry. He followed her out of reflex, only to notice that the remaining Gryndilows had not run away, but instead had returned to their original quarry. Cedric.

Try as they might, neither he or Fleur could hope to catch the much nimbler beasts in their element.

Both of them sent spells in Cedric's direction, hoping to strike the Gryindillows dragging the Hufflepuff into the depths of the abyss.

Without warning, what Harry could have sworn was a sea shark, ambushed the beast's clinging to Cedric.

A glance at Fleur showed that she wasn't really that surprised; Only after the champion was no longer in the hands of the Gryndillows, did Harry notice that the "Shark" had a human torso and legs.

 _"Krum!"_ Harry thought in relief.

The Drumstang champion, however, sped away as soon as he had done his good deed.

As both he and Fleur neared the suspended body of Cedric, Harry finally was able to think about what had just happened.

He shuddered involuntarily. Grindillows were supposed to be dangerous but not vicious. The ones they had just faced had eyes that didn't match the description of the bestiaries back in Hogwarts. If Harry had to describe them, those eyes would have been the equivalent of bloodshot in a human.

If he didn't know any better, he would say that they had looked sickly.

When he and fleur managed to reach Cedric, they were relieved to find out that his own bubblehead charm had held and hadn't been popped by the attackers.

Fleur did not waste any time and with a flick of her wrist, sent the champion back to the surface.

In the distance, they both saw Krum circle around them, his transfigured shark head making it impossible for the champion to stop swimming.

Once Cedric reached the surface, Krum sped away on his own.

As the Bulgarian champion disappeared into the distant water, Fleur and Harry shared a look of apprehension. Neither was eager to continue swimming alone in the Gryndillow infested waters. Harry was still bleeding from the arm, and Fleur was starting to show signs of exhaustion, her fiery nature unable to resist the inherent cold of the water.

The merpeople song was heard again in the distance, and both Harry and fleur looked in the same direction. Nodding to each other, they began heading in the direction that the chant.

As they swam, the song grew louder, and Harry was finally able to spot some of the mermen warriors, circling a conspicuously symmetrical algae field. Sharing a look, one of determination, Harry and the french witch increased their pace towards the water-dwelling people, both of them eager to be done with the challenge as soon as possible.

The song drew them closer to the aquatic plant field, and as they entered it, they both drew wands; ready in case of another Gryndillow ambush.

But no such ambush came, and as they delved deeper into the algae forest, more and more mermen began swimming around them;. At the same time, hidden in between the plants, the sheer numbers of the merfolk made it evident that they were reaching their intended destination.

Suddenly the underwater plant forest gave way to another field of ruins, one that had been redecorated with arts and crafts that would only be conceivable by those beings that lived underwater.

However, for a village, the home of the merpeople was, for the most part, emptier that Harry would have expected. While the number of warriors surrounding him and Fleur was significant, only a few of unarmed merpeople roamed the depths of their habitats.

Alarmingly, the few that Harry was able to catch a glimpse of, also sported the diseased look of the Gryndillows. The equivalent of bloodshot eyes marring their faces, their veins darkened and standing out amidst the pale and fishlike skin of the merpeople.

Both champions stopped when in the distance, they were able to spot the suspended silhouettes of humans. Both Harry and fleur knew immediately that they had reached their quarry. Fleur, despite being evidently tired, began swimming with the speed of a demon towards the captives, giving Harry the impression that she knew exactly who had been taken from her.

Harry too increased his pace.

When the captives were finally within his vision, he had to stop and had to think about why two of his best friends were held underwater. A part of him refused to believe that Hermione was so precious enough to Krum that she would have been chosen as his objective.

Yet, when he saw Fleur trying to cut free a smaller version of herself, with a sharp rock instead of her wand, he began speeding towards the french champion hastily. Evidently, fleur was too weak to continue casting spells. He knew that the most expedite way to free either Hermione or Ron would be magic. If his fellow competitor hadn't done so, it probably meant that her situation was far dier than he anticipated.

Suddenly, the water vibrated with the roar of an unknown beast.

Prompted by the sound, and unwilling to face more adversity, Harry sped towards the tied down Hermione, quickly releasing her from her subaquatic prison and immediately sending her to the surface with another motion of his wand.

Mermen warriors then began looking pointedly at him, especially the ones guarding Ronald, a message that Harry understood as a prompt to leave. With no sight of Krum, however, Harry debated whether trying to free Ron too was too bold an idea.

Despite the bloodshot stares of the mermen warriors, Harry decided to stay within the village. As he had told Daphne, he was done taking chances, especially when his friends were involved. If he had to lose a tournament challenge, then so be it.

A deep, bone-chilling growl echoed through the water, and the mermen all looked in the direction it had come from, alarm, written across their unfamiliar visage.

Harry turned to look at Fleur, who was almost done cutting the ropes which held the unfamiliar girl underwater.

Another growl swept past Harry, this time louder and more menacing. A roar that made Harry's body-hair stand in attention. The mermen wasted no time in swimming away in a panicked flurry, leaving Harry, Fleur and three captives alone.

Not spending any time, Harry cut the restraints binding Ron, and then swam towards Fleur. She managed to free her designated prisoner, yet lacked the strength to magically send her to the surface, instead, she was doing her best trying to drag her objective to the surface, propelled by the sheer power of her muscles.

Harry, afraid of what was to come, aided the french witch by sending her rescued prisoner to the surface the same way he had done with Ron and Hermione. Albeit, much slower than he had wanted.

A bout of pain, akin to a full-bodied cramp assaulted him, letting him know that he too was getting tired from the continuous spell casting.

He disregarded that feeling, instead, dedicating the last remaining bits of energy within his body, to free the remaining captive, a girl he recognized as Cho Cheng; Cedric's objective. Thankfully, the girl began heading upwards on her own, without needing Harry to spend even more energy sending her that way.

He looked around, trying to make sure that everyone had been released. Harry's eyes landed on the grateful yet concerned eyes of Fleur, who remained nearby even after her objective had been propelled to the surface.

Struggling, he gave her a thumbs-up, prompting her to leave.

The French witch smiled at him from within her bubblehead charm and began swimming upwards.

Harry did the same. Yet, as they began leaving the mervillage behind, another growl echoed through the water; much closer than before. Instinctively, Harry put all his strength into swimming upwards.

Both Harry and Fleur reached the limbo between the bottom of the lake and the surface. Worryingly, however, Harry was beginning to catch up to the french witch.

He intended to help her out in her final ascent and be done with the whole ordeal. But something unknown screamed at Harry from within him to move aside. He resisted the impulse at first, but fear began creeping up on him, allowing a tiny bit of doubt to invade his mind.

He caved in. Arms flailing desperately, he moved to the side.

Almost faster than he could react, a dark shadow swam past him, hidden in the murky darkness of the water. What he saw next was the visage of Fleur being dragged back down into the murky waters, held by a long tentacle, like a helpless rag-doll.

He tried to breathe in, intent on following his fellow champion back down, only to realize, that the bubblehead charm that miraculously survived the entire challenge had finally popped.

Stunned, he drifted aimlessly in the underwater currents for a minute. He looked up and saw that the surface of the lake was closer than ever. A primordial instinct of self-preservation invaded him, urging Harry to swim upwards.

But another roar echoed through the water, and Harry stood still amidst the water. He groaned to himself as he realized that he didn't have it within himself to leave the french champion to her fate. Holding his breath, he patted the back pockets of his swimming trunks, finding the mysterious plant that Nevil had handed him before the challenge started.

With only a bit of hesitation, Harry chucked the Gillyweed in his mouth and swallowed.

A second passed, then pain assaulted him. " _Bad idea,"_ Harry thought as pain gripped him in his neck.

Then, nothing. Out of reflex, Harry breathed in, the fresh air in his lungs driving out the remnants of the surprise pain from his body.

Then he realized that he was still underwater and that there was no air to be breathed in.

Yet, he breathed again.

The feeling of resistance against the newly formed webbing between his fingers told him everything he needed to know about Gillyweed.

Not a second thought was given, and he dove at surprising speed in the direction that the french witch had disappeared in.

The newfound acuteness in his senses told him where to go. The deepest part of the lake beckoned. Instinct told him how to swim the fastest he'd ever swum in his life. He dove deeper, pressure changes no longer bothering his body. Ruins, grander than the ones in which he had fought amidst during the fight with Grybdillows went past him; then, the growl of the giant squid reached him once again. Instinct made him swim faster.

The French witch appeared in his vision, suspended in the water, unresponsive; Yet, Harry managed to discern the bubblehead charm still attached to the witch's face. But, before relief could wash over him, the beak of the squid appeared from within the darkened waters, intent on swallowing his fellow competitor in one swift motion.

Harry cast a spell with his wand, which was enough to draw the attention of the giant beast towards him.

Tentacles then swarmed The Boy Who Lived, catching him in one swift motion.

For the first time, Harry was able to see the beast and its sickly visage; black veins popping out of its body like they had in the merpeople.

The beast was meant to be dangerous, not vicious.

But it was willing to slam Harry against the ruins in the bottom of the lake. Almost as if it was playing with him, structure after the structure was smashed by the tentacles restraining Harry.

Truly a plaything, Harry was sent into one of the underwater ruins. Yet, his new body was surprisingly resilient. Harry hissed at the pain of being slammed into the ground, but more so at the new cut on his arm, caused by landing on an old rusted sword, lost to time amidst the ruins of the black lake.

The tentacles of the squid lashed out at him again,

thrashing the ruins around him; Yet, Harry managed to pick up the rusted sword before the squid's appendages swept him.

Harry stabbed at the tentacles holding him with the fury of a man who knows is about to die. But the ultimate crush from the giant squid didn't come. Instead, the rusted sword, which became embedded in the flesh of the monster, causing it to thrash around, allowing Harry to free himself from the beast's clutch. With the newfound acuity of his senses, Harry sped towards the sinking form of Fleur, managing to grab her before the pressure of the lake killed her unconscious body.

After that, Harry didn't bother to glance at anywhere else but at the water's surface, unsure about the amount of time that the french witch had spent without a steady air supply.

A menacing growl echoed from the deep, and Harry was sure that the squid was after him, a belief that was confirmed when a huge tentacle emerged from the depths, intent on ending Harry and the witch amongst his arms. But Harry's speed was fueled by fear and the desperation of the situation. Sooner than he could process, fresh air assaulted his new body; and then the cold metal from the finish line knocked him unconscious as he landed upon the barges filled with his classmates.

 **The next update will most likely come with a revision of the first chapter, so do not mind the double update notification**

 **So people have been suggesting to me the idea of a . Is that something you guys would support? Lemme know!**


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